2+2=5 - Into The Future (ristampa)

The new wave in Italy was a seed that took root successfully, though its ranks include a host of protagonists whose fortunes varied widely. A genre that's barely a genre at all, even within our borders the new wave shattered into thousands of small waves: some kept the momentum of the current, others, too weak, faded away, while others remained almost entirely underground, far from the spotlight. The 2+2=5 undoubtedly belong to this last category: a Milanese trio made up of Nino La Loggia, Giacomo Spazio (who would later be among the founders of Vox Pop) and Cha-Cha Hagiwara. A band entirely oriented toward tomorrow, in those early 80s when a sci-fi future seemed almost more real than mere hypothesis, 2+2=5 (note the name's nod to Orwell's 1984) foreshadowed, through their music, the spectre of a glacial, cold future, restless and selfishly individualistic.

"Into The Future", originally pressed in 1983 by No-Name, has now been reissued by Spittle. A blend of post-punk, minimal synth and dark-wave, the album is wrapped in a bleak, alienating atmosphere and pessimistic lyrics about the technology poised to invade our lives. "Without Words" opens the record with an electro-dance instrumental stripped of its joy, which opens up bright only to fold back in on itself, dark and brooding. "Alternative Two2" flaunts an alienating rhythm of keyboard and drum machine amid stuttering guitar, with K.S.& V. an alienated piece of post-punk. From there we move into new wave in the style of Stranglers with "Meeting Mc. L.", the apocalyptic "Slow 4" and the obsessive "Jacho's Story", all built on funky bass, a relentless drum machine, surging synth lines and Spazio's English vocals delivered with a thick Italian accent.

"It's A Good Day Today" is a leaden ballad that lets a glimmer of human emotion peek through, paving the way for the requiem "Last Sunset", a death-rite made of droning winds, martial bass and mourning keyboards.

Two tracks have been added to the 1983 tracklist: the Orientalish "Guangzhou", taken from the compilation "FEar this!", and "Incontrando Mc. L.", retrieved from a cassette included with the fanzine Zero Zero.

An excellent opportunity to discover, or rediscover, a significant yet largely overlooked presence on the early-80s music scene. Amid pessimistic existentialism, bleak visions of the future and atmospheres hovering between nightmare and alienation, 2+2=5 delivered an experience that was certainly not danceable or bright in tone, but charged with a distinctive urgency and expressiveness. Seventeen years on, it's an excellent excuse to revisit "Into The Future".

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12/05/2010