TOTAL REVERENDS - Total Reverends

We've been following singer-songwriter and guitarist Francesco Forni for years, particularly through the folk-blues project shared with Ilaria Graziano, two albums released between 2012 and 2013. Together with drummer Piero Monterisi, Francesco now launches a promising new partnership, rounded out in the studio by Gabriele Lazzarotti, the house bassist on Propaganda Live and a valuable collaborator (like Monterisi, for that matter) with the finest names on the Rome scene. The idea, born almost as a lark but soon turned into an entertaining outlet for eclectic, seasoned musicians, is to fuse vintage rock-blues, perfected between the Sixties and Seventies, with some standout examples from the turn of the millennium (White Stripes, Black Keys), with the aim of making the final result feel absolutely contemporary.

Mission perfectly accomplished, with the addition of a significant plus: crafting a distinctive narrative. The songs are presented by musician-clergymen — yes, you read that right — and the intent becomes especially clear during Total Reverends' live shows, when both the core duo-trio and any guests take the stage under stage names, dressed in clerical robes. Francesco Forni is Padre Terno, Piero Monterisi is Monsignor Terisi, and the lyrics are packed with religious references. But beyond the playful side, there's the music, and it's serious business: a deeply "American" sound that can be powerful and aggressive ("Love Me") or channel itself into ballads with an unmistakable Hendrix-like flavor ("As We Were Lovers", for instance, is their "Little Wing" with the addition of a chorus lifted straight from the Gospel according to the Beatles).

Between priests, nuns, prayers and blessings, "Total Reverends" features seven singles doled out sparingly over recent months plus three new tracks, packed with dazzling solos and top-notch songwriting, crafted while keeping a devotional image of Jack White fixed on the nightstand. It's a record elevated by numerous guests, plenty of friends contributing decisive parts: the aforementioned Ilaria Graziano, Violante Placido, Rodrigo D'Erasmo, Roberto Angelini, making for a pleasingly choral record. The Holy Mass finds its conclusion with the performance of — of course — a rock-blues number, "Uniforms", freely drawn from the book of the prophet George Harrison, a duet shared with Roberto Dell'Era, the perfect sparring partner to close out the celebration. Lest we ever forget to sanctify every feast.

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31/01/2026