I DOTTORI - Canzone perfetta

A happily troubled existence, that of I Dottori. For almost a decade considered one of the finest emerging acts of the Rome area, they had until now only released a couple of EPs, enough regardless to earn them cult status among a loyal following of supporters. They were called Doctorbrain, and initially sang in English, drawing on a certain strain of American rock with a clear nineties pedigree; but their first EP passed largely unnoticed.

The turning point came in 2008 when, following a shake-up in the line-up, Marco Fanella (a guitar virtuoso who also handles backing vocals with ease) and Antonio La Chioma (a rock-solid presence on bass) were joined by the extraordinary voice of Andrea Di Toppa (one of those rare singers able to move naturally from grind metal to traditional chanson) and, shortly after, by the versatile drumming of Luca Urbinati.

Di Toppa brought with him an exceptional compositional talent, the overarching vision that would come to define the band's sound for good, and the switch to singing in Italian, a move that would make their output far more effective and direct.

The result was the four tracks (plus an alternative take) collected on the second EP "Pornonauta", a perfect snapshot of the style put forward by Doctorbrain, an ideal crossroads between the most abrasive Faith No More (American hardcore) and the least saccharine Negramaro (a thoroughly Mediterranean sensibility for melody).

Worlds too distant to coexist? Don't be skeptical, hearing is believing, and today the Lazio-based quartet confirms it has found its natural habitat, writing songs that are never predictable, enriched by sophisticated lyrics that are never banal, perpetually balanced between bloody scratches and enveloping embraces, in which earth-shattering riffs and romantic refinements alternate with real skill.

An intense live schedule has helped cement the band's reputation in their home area, an activity that culminated in the much-followed "Doctorbrain Lab" series of events, conceived with the aim of bringing together sound, literature, photography, video projections, painting, installations and assorted experiments within the same space, with their own music and that of other carefully selected bands always kept center stage.

In the meantime I Dottori changed their name to Italian and set themselves the goal of pursuing full artistic independence. To break free from market logic they built an imposing recording studio of their own (the ZeroZero Studio), where the thirteen tracks of "Canzone Perfetta" were conceived and recorded.

The convenience of having their own studio came with the side effect of a drawn-out timeline, stretching all the way to April 2012, when I Dottori finally released their first true official album.

Today the impression is that of listening to a greatest hits, because the tracks on "Canzone perfetta" have been played live for a long time, and those who follow the band already know them by heart. An almost artisanal passion, a hunger for perfectionism, meticulous attention to detail: all this has led to an all but flawless product.

"Canzone perfetta" above all contains great songs, with a level of quality that few other emerging acts can boast, all played excellently, resulting in a genuinely enviable cohesiveness.

Three tracks from the previous EP are revisited (and re-recorded): the formidable "Christine", "Pornonauta" and "Belladonna", a much-awarded composition widely regarded as the band's crowning achievement. These established tracks set the mood for the whole album, which nonetheless holds plenty more in store, starting with the sensational choruses that make "Nero", "L'artista" and (above all) "L'alchimista" potential hits of the alternative circuit.

Not only the sacred reverence for Mike Patton, detectable for instance within the folds of "Anonimo", but also intriguing detours, such as the crazy crossover between stadium metal and Fred Buscaglione found in "La pastiglia", or the unabashedly Spanish flourishes that season part of the closing "Canzone non per loro".

It's not easy to emerge from the provinces, and above all it's not easy to break out of them, but if you're looking for certainties about I Dottori, you'll certainly find them within these grooves.

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03/04/2012