Hailing
from Milan, Le Folli Arie came to life in 2012 on the initiative of
four experienced musicians sharing a common love for the music of the
seventies and, according to their website, among their influences you
can find bands and artists such as Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin, Pink
Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Porcupine Tree, Lucio Battisti, PFM and many
more. The band tried to brew all these influences into something
personal and new and, after two years of hard work in the studio, in
2014 they self-released an eponymous debut album. The line up
features Simone Corazzari (lead vocals, guitars), Massimiliano
Masciari (bass), Marco Antonio Cerioli (keyboards, vocals) and
Francesco Meles (drums, percussions) plus many guests that
contributed to enrich the sound such as Gianluca Del Fiol (guitar),
Luca Pasqua (guitar), Maurizio Signorino (sax), Piergiorgio Elia
(sax), Edwin Della Torre (percussion), Serena Ferrara (backing
vocals), Giorgia Ieluzzi (backing vocals), Alessandra Marina (backing
vocals), Annamaria Cristian (cello), Silvio Centamore (drums,
percussion), Lorenzo Pierobon (didgeridoo) and Manuela Masciari
(castanets). According to the band, the music on this work could be
defined as pop dressed in progressive rock or viceversa. The
songwriting tries to be direct and easy while avoiding being banal or
straightforward commercial, the overall sound is rich and well
refined but, in my opinion, it's a pity that the band did not venture
into lengthy tracks and more challenging instrumental passages.
The
beautiful artwork by Matteo Compagnoni depicts an imaginary city in
the sky, a crazy world where the perception of reality is completely
distorted. According to the band, all the tracks are linked by a
common thread and you should listen to them one after each other as
if they were parts of a long suite that gently flows with no
discrepancies... The introspective lyrics are cryptic in their
simplicity and tell of a personal crises leading to madness with soft
tones and a touch of melancholy. Well, the overall atmosphere
conveyed by the music and lyrics reminds me of a short story by
Italian writer Dino Buzzati, Ragazza che precipita, and of a
novel by British writer Nick Hornby, A Long Way Down...
The
opener "Salto nel buio" (Jump in the dark) tells of a
difficult choice, a jump in the dark to look for something that does
not exist, pushed by the deceptive hope of finding a way out from a
personal crises... It leads to the lighter "Bellezza"
(Beauty), a melodic ballad that tells of an indescribable beauty,
free as the sun, that surrounds you but that you can't grasp... Who
can't save you from yourself?
The
bitter-sweet "Non è facile" (It's not easy) is a melodic
piece about a difficult relationship. For this track the band shot a
video where you can see a man and a woman who have to endeavour many
humiliations during their everyday life... The following "Quello
che ho" (What I've got) tells about a man who feels
inappropriate since he can't give to his sweetheart what she needs...
Next
comes the lively instrumental "On da bridge" that the
recalls the soundtracks of the Italian films from the seventies and
bands such as Calibro 35 or La Batteria. It leads to the sarcastic
"Fuori!" (Out!), featuring Latin rhythms and a strong
criticism against the culture of consumerism. The lyrics describe a
man strolling along the streets of Milan who looks at the empty,
false people having fun... He can't be like them, he thinks that's
far better dealing with a hundred hippies than with a single spoiled
rich boy...
 |
| Le Folli Arie on stage 2015 |
The
mood of the following "Il giardino della mia follia" (The
garden of my madness) is darker. This piece tries to describe in
words and lyrics a man prisoner of his dreams who tries to lock up in
his heart all his pain and his personal hell getting lost in his
madness... "Mentre tu cadi" (While you are falling down)
tells of a man who realizes that one of his friends is burning out
following the course of his madness. You can perceive a sense of
merciful pity but nobody can help his unfortunate friend, it's too
late and there's nothing to do...
"Il
giorno mio migliore" (My best day) takes us back to start, to
the flight in the void of a man who can't wait for a better day. In
his song there's a dream, in his steps you can feel the
unstoppable desire of jumping down through a sky of lead... The
closer "Alien's trip" features some ethnic flavours and
accompanies his last flight towards another dimension.
"Shot
in the dark", "A better day tomorrow" and "It's
not easy" are just the English versions of "Salto nel
buio", "Il giorno mio migliore" and "Non è
facile", three bonus tracks that do not add anything to this
work... On the whole, I think that this is a nice pop rock album
where melody prevails on a more adventurous, daring approach to
songwriting. I know, it could be disappointing for a prog fan, but if
you like bands such as Laviàntica, Layra or Camelias Garden, have a try: you
can listen to the complete album HERE.
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