reviews / 2017

THE MENTOS - Bene, ma non benissimo!

Name: THE MENTOS – Bene, ma non benissimo!
Item: Bene, ma non benissimo!
Rating: 6
Author: Claudio Lancia

2017 (Self-released)

novelty, ska

by Claudio Lancia

Having crossed the ten-year mark, The Mentos are celebrating in style, not content with simply releasing the fifth album of their career, but choosing to do so with a lavish package including a bonus disc, a "debbest" featuring 14 "classics" re-recorded and refreshed to beat the summer heat.

The twelve new tracks that make up "Bene ma non benissimo" were written with the aim of broadening the stylistic range of this band from Lazio, now able to move credibly not just between ska, patchanka, reggae and rocksteady, but even allowing themselves touches of pizzica, taranta, Irish folk and tango played with heavy guitars.

Don't be fooled by the cover image: the superhero costume dumped in a trash can is just the latest joke from these terrible jokers, who keep dressing up on stage, dreaming up goliardic stunts and turning every show into a full-blown entertainment set.

From the trio they started out as, The Menthos have now grown into a seven-piece, and their sound has been enriched by the presence of horns, accordions, ukuleles and acoustic guitars, an expressive freedom bolstered by their choice to stick with self-production, still handling the entire recording process on their own.

Giuseppe “Polska” Arduini, also active with Bravo and Easy Skankers, remains the mastermind of the Lazio-based band, the author of lyrics narrating improbable adventures populated by lifeguards, mosquitoes, zombies and knife-grinders, in which quite a few friends of the band risk being portrayed and good-naturedly targeted.

It's all a game, great fun, deliriously funny summer music perfect for getting a laugh under the blazing sun, and over the course of these ten years it has led the band to rack up an impressive number of live shows: their fifth album marks an unthinkable milestone for an outfit that has chosen to play original music while defying the obvious difficulty of making both kids and adults smile.

Ride the wave of great music

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16/08/2017

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Claudio Lancia, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition