NICOLÒ CARNESI - Bellissima Noia

Ho una rivoluzione che non vuole uscire

ho una piccola speranza che non mi fa dormire.

Palermo-born singer-songwriter Nicolò Carnesi loves writing, reading and watching films, prefers solitude, and uses social media purely to promote his work and his image; all these traits surface in the songs on his latest album, "Bellissima noia," which addresses contemporary society but is also a tool for deep introspective analysis. The artist has a thoroughly personal take on the concept of "boredom," one that takes on a positive meaning and ties back to the work of American writer David Foster Wallace, whose influence can be felt throughout this latest effort.

Nine tracks, nine stories, nine different approaches to music that give rise to a wide range of sounds (from sax to percussion to piano) and make the album multifaceted both in its lyrics and in its arrangements. The release of "Bellissima noia" was preceded by the singles "Lo spazio vuoto" and "M.I.A.": the former blends guitars reminiscent of Wow with the electronics of Cani's "Aurora" — "Non capisco la differenza tra un politico e un cretino," sings Carnesi in a critique that touches on every social category; the latter is a long (9:46), melancholy and reflective suite, closer to a poem than a song, a journey through an undefined space in search of a love that "è solo un'illusione."

The title track, on the other hand, opens the album: it starts off slowly before coming to life after the first minute and exploding in the chorus, with a highly infectious, catchy melody that, in terms of themes, offers an effective summary of the whole record. The ever-present "bellissima noia" is conveyed through inspired verses that pique curiosity and invite the listener to keep exploring the album.

Among the tracks on offer there's also room for a nod to the current music scene: in the song "Lo scherzo infinito" there's an ironic reference to a chart hit, with Carnesi singing “Ma tutto intorno non c’è niente di magnifico, tutto intorno non c’è un cazzo di magnifico”, as if offering a riposte to the catchphrase made famous by Fedez and Francesca Michielin, a mirror of a conformist society that traps people in a monotonous, ever-identical life. This track stands as one of the album's most critical and polemical moments against contemporary society: “Scappa dalle facce vuote perse per strada, dalla vita precostituita”.

The record features a pleasing alternation between highly energetic tracks, such as “Ricalcolo”, where choruses and horns frame a rock sound reminiscent of Samuele Bersani, and others that are more intimate and interpretively rich: “Comunichiamo male” is a sarcastic, almost whispered account of a couple more inclined to look perfect in a photograph than to actually talk to each other, conveying a quiet resignation toward love and the person who embodies it.

“Bellissima noia” is the mature work of a singer-songwriter engaged in a profound journey of growth; it's an explosion of sounds and words, bitter reflections and biting irony, melancholy but also lightheartedness, social criticism and veiled introspection. It's a varied album, skilfully built so as never to bore: it's precisely this paradox that makes the title choice all the more fitting and ironic. The warm sound wins you over and envelops you, leading on a journey that comes to a natural close with “M.I.A.”, which draws on Sixties and Seventies melodies and provides the perfect epilogue for the work of an artist who has drawn on the best of Italian singer-songwriter tradition and made it feel current.

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06/10/2016