24 GRANA - Bidonville

It was a given. Or rather, everyone just knew it. That Ciccio and the others, gig after gig, were getting a taste for it again, and that one day a new album under the name 24 Grana would arrive. After all, right alongside the 2019 reunion, the alchemy of getting back together immediately sparked the creative fire, and two new tracks followed in quick succession, “A raccolta” (featuring Clementino) and “Orso”. Still, a new album from the historic Naples outfit seemed like a mirage, something fans - already satisfied and grateful for the unexpected comeback - almost didn't dare ask for, didn't dare hope for.
It took seven years from the reunion, a full 15 since “Sulla stessa barca”, but “Bidonville”, the eighth album by 24 Grana, has finally arrived.

When, a few seconds into "Nino", a charging guitar riff courtesy of Peppe Fontanella settles over the shy electronic beat, it feels like coming home after a long journey. Listening to this muscular alternative-rock opener, as well as the gentler "Nisciuno parla cchiù", the first impression harks back to the miraculous "Metaversus" from 1999. Little by little, though, "Bidonville" unfolds as a journey through the band's various souls and stages. The warm, dense production of ballads like "Je songo comme so'" and "L'ora 'e turnà a faticà" recalls the moody "K Album", while the intimate yet gripping storytelling of "Sotto San Gennaro" calls back to the tales of "Ghostwriters".

The title track adds a dash of acid, or even poison, to the set of songs, with a returning Armando Cotugno dictating the groove with his bass alongside Renato Minale's precise drumming. Amid allegories that land (the aforementioned "Bidonville") and a few that land a little less ("Overdose" comes to mind), Ciccio Di Bella's pen is in fine form as usual, capable of flashes of everyday poetry ("Dimme come fai") or street-level poetry ("Stadera"). Just by its presence in the tracklist, a vignette like "Gaza (ce chiamma ancora)" reaffirms which side the band is on, which side it has always been on, and its innate, inextinguishable militant streak.

All roughly in their fifties, 24 Grana inevitably no longer burn with the urgency of times past, but they've replaced it with a conscious drive that has translated into thirty-eight minutes more inspired than anyone could have expected. Or perhaps it's we who had forgotten what a band capable of such a unique mix of experimentation and rootedness in its territory - one that has made the history of Italian alternative music - could still pull off.

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22/10/2026