Gomma - The Anxieties and Discomforts of Generation Z

First steps

Gomma were formed in Caserta at the start of 2016, when Ilaria Formisano (vocals) wasn't even eighteen yet, Giovanni (guitars) and Matteo (bass) were a little older, and Paolo (drums) was twenty-six. In the Campania town there isn't much for kids like them to do, especially in the evening: desolate streets, venues that close early, particularly on weeknights, widespread boredom paired with that eternal lack of change, that sense of emptiness that subtly traps the mind, preventing it from reaching toward the horizon. The provinces as a state of mind, as a physical and metaphysical place that compresses the imagination and amplifies unease: it's no coincidence that the "provinces" have historically produced a significant share of our alternative rock scene (from Piedmont's Marlene Kuntz to Sicily's Uzeda), especially the rawest and most sincere kind, precisely because it's free of those metropolitan interferences that tend to stereotype even the most underground inclinations. In that Baustelle-like "chronic provinciality," to kill time between one university exam and the next, four teenagers shut themselves away in a rehearsal room and try to find an opportunity to make their dreams real.

Everything around them looks bleak and decaying: lost amid barren farmland, abandoned industrial sites, state roads linking southern Italy to the rest of Europe, and concrete-choked coastlines, Gomma write songs quickly, because they want to start playing live as soon as possible. A short, very lo-fi demo, "Aprile," posted online almost as a joke, with no particular expectations, becomes a minor sensation and catches the attention of a few independent labels. This is in the immediate aftermath of the it-pop boom, and labels are on the lookout for young talent. Michele Montagano, who runs V4V, strikes the four of them as the most interesting option. Before their first year of activity is even over, a second track is already ready, "Sottovuoto" (which will remain only a digital single), confirming their choice to position themselves stylistically between post-punk and emo-core, with sounds rich in Nineties echoes. The third track released is "Elefanti" (accompanied by a video that goes viral, thanks in part to its tumblr aesthetic and in part to Ilaria's unwitting charisma), which paves the way for the release of their debut album, recorded in the space of a few weeks and released in January 2017.

Expressionist flashes

Toska is an expressionist flash, a distillation of the lives of four young people from the provinces, of their musical, literary and cinematic passions, snapshots of existential malaise with a universal reach. The band from Caserta sets to music the deepest recesses of the human soul, trying to decode the anguish that disturbs the search for peace of mind. The musical touchstones are clear: emo, shoegaze and post-rock, the very same post-rock that marked the early days of Massimo Volume. And like Massimo Volume, Gomma make use of spoken-word delivery, backed by cutting guitars, on the two parts of "Alice," brief captions that open and close the album, written as if part of an audiobook, intoned with clear inspiration drawn from the style of Emidio Clementi. And just like Massimo Volume, they write a song titled "Alessandro," but in place of neorealism they substitute an exploration of the human psyche, honed through vocals that at times warp into a hysterical wail, a voice that, having survived - albeit defeated - the sonic hurricane, can do nothing but surrender and go along with it.

Hard to pigeonhole, with one foot in Nineties alternative rock and the other firmly planted in the present, Toska lines up fast, blunt-force tracks, only one of which runs past the three-minute mark. Views climb, live activity takes off, Gomma get invited to a string of festivals across the country, open a few dates on Calcutta's tour, and rapper Rkomi samples "Elefanti" on one of his own tracks. The record becomes a minor sensation in the underground circuit, winning over critics and the "alternative" audience alike, and turning into a symbol of a renaissance for that side of Italian indie unwilling to be seduced by the mainstream. Angular guitars, a minimal, icy bass, narcotic percussion, and a voice committed to an anxious narration (at times using spoken word, elsewhere a neurotic post-hardcore tone) of feelings and vivid, emotionally charged scenes. They brush up against Fine Before You Came, but add touches of minimalism and bursts of real immediacy. Anxious, short, fast songs, sung with fervour, seemingly written while staring down at that asphalt turned white-hot by the scorchiest summer days: impossible to get bored.

A Holiday

Meanwhile, the band keeps writing and, whenever they get the chance, recording new, scorching songs. Before the year is out comes an EP, Vacanza, containing three new tracks (plus an acoustic version of one of them) that convey the feeling of a break, a holiday, precisely, as if it were a day at the seaside organized to break up the daily routine. Gone are the adolescent scars of "Alessandro" or the wistful nostalgia of the two-part "Alice"; the scenario here feels more reassuring, at least sonically. There's an acoustic ballad, the guitars are less angular, distorted but not abrasive, the singing is truly singing, the songs have the shape of a song, and the lyrics talk about breaking free from pain rather than dwelling on it.

The title track reveals an unexpected softness; the structure still leans on post-rock, smoothed out in the direction of June Of 44, but with fewer sonic swings, eventually settling into a measured emo-core gust. Confirming this marked lightening of emotional weight is "Falò", built on stop-and-go dynamics and pop-punk riffs. The narrative skill of the lyrics is undeniable, capturing experience and emotional jolts. "Foresteria", while keeping its lyrical imagery (with a subtle nod to Rimbaud), falls more quietly in line with the Gazebo Penguins/Management del Dolore Post Operatorio school. Closing the EP is a charcoal-sketch acoustic emo-core piece made together with Generic Animal, which reprises "Falò" by rebuilding the conversation between the characters in the form of a duet.

Vacanza underlines and confirms the band's expressive immediacy, revealing their skill in handling a more "relaxed" alt-rock, while also raising hype for the next record, one that would recover the inspiration and character of Toska, bursting back onto the national independent scene like an earthquake.

Between Ghosts and Labyrinths

Pushed to their limits by two extremely intense years, Gomma spend 2018 as victims of a sort of rejection crisis. There's a falling-out, and the premature collapse of a fine story born in the provinces and quickly turned into a nationally relevant phenomenon becomes a real risk. Then, thankfully, everything gets patched up, thanks to a providential, conciliatory email that was initially ignored for a few weeks. For this reason, Sacrosanto, released in January 2019 and preceded by three promising singles, takes on the character of a genuine restart. The spark returns, and the four of them find the energy to develop new ideas. Ilaria's voice rests on guitars that can't hide their admiration for early Verdena, enriching a songwriting style able to capture the imagination of Generation Z.

Stories told in quick flashes, few words but every one essential, beating boredom by racing against the clock, because these days brevity is a gift, and the runtime of these ten tracks fits that aesthetic perfectly, leaving at the door the melodic openness that characterized "Vacanza" or "Elefanti", the small indie-circuit hits the band might now wish they'd never written. There's more overall cleanliness in the sound, since the quartet is aiming for a wider audience, but the musical structures become uncompromising, spat out all in one breath. Narrative skill and angular guitars remain, but with an even more explosive force, as if going full throttle were the only way to survive and stay together.

Within Sacrosanto, Gomma tell of ghostly presences, labyrinthine houses, faces pressed to the ground, streets that keep people apart, and even if towards the end the formula starts to repeat itself a touch, what stands out is the band's ability to build a work that is at once claustrophobic and liberating — the chorus of "Verme" being a "luminous" example of just that.

Consecrations

Having earned genuine acclaim, Gomma find themselves facing two pandemic years without being able to tour their songs consistently. They use the time to work on their next record, the proverbial, fateful third album. Zombie Cowboys comes out in January 2022. The voice has matured, the energy is still there, but more controlled, aimed exactly where it's needed, so as not to waste a single gram of dynamite. The vision becomes sharper: what used to be somewhat out of focus, flooded by post-adolescent fury, now feels studied, deliberate. The result is still explosive, falling in line with that imaginary lineage running from Marlene Kuntz (though in several spots the vocal lines recall Scisma), through Verdena, up to the Fast Animals And Slow Kids of "Hybris", renewing the spirit of that guitar-driven alternative rock that branded the Italian Nineties (and beyond). All very emo-core, but above all very emotional.

The fire keeps burning in the outstanding "Santa pace", which continues on from "Santa Messa", the closing track of the previous record. The backbone of the album is made up of the blunt-force "Guancia a guancia", "Louis Armstrong", "7", "Iena" and "Mastroianni", in which the tone stays tense and dramatic, partly because some of the material was written during lockdown. Especially in the second half, the record shows a far more varied mood than usual, thanks to softer, more introspective compositions like "Sentenze" and "Venezia", built around an effective but understated indie-pop with pleasantly unexpected dreamy edges. But even the new Gomma never set out to soothe the darkness overflowing from every line, producing an excellent synthesis of immediacy and complexity, of tenderness and roughness.

On June 27, 2022, Gomma were chosen to open the concert headlined by Pixies in the prestigious setting of the Cavea, at Rome's Auditorium Parco della Musica. "Opening slots are never easy", Ilaria would say towards the end of a set delivered with striking intensity, half an hour under a cloudy sky that, as dusk fell, tried in vain to ease the brutal heat of the hottest summer on record.

Gomma's guitar-oriented sound draws on the best of Nineties Italian alternative rock, the very scene that was in turn decisively shaped by Pixies. Opening for them is undoubtedly a huge responsibility, but it's also an official stamp of approval for a band that, in just three albums, has managed to build a reputation by writing small instant classics of the national independent circuit.

Photo contributions by Ida Russoniello (top photo) and Alessandro Pascolo

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