IL MANUALE DEI PICCOLI DISCORSI

Distillerie di Malto took shape in 1988 in Ortona, in the province of Chieti. After a long period spent playing covers, composing and honing their skills, in 2001 the band finally managed to self-release an interesting debut album entitled "Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi" (The handbook of the little speeches) with a line up featuring Fabrizio Pellicciaro (vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, recorder), Fabiano Cudazzo (keyboards), Marco Angelone (electric and nylon-string guitar), Maurizio Di Tollo (drums, percussion, vocals) and Salvatore Marchesano (bass) plus the guest Luca Latini (flute). It's a labour of love, largely influenced by seventies sounds but not without a touch of originality. The art cover, that in some way tries to depict the musical content, reproduces a famous tableau by René Magritte, "La condition humaine", 1933, one of the painter's earliest treatments of the theme of window painting and of painting within a painting...

The opener "Allegro con brio" starts with a dramatic crescendo that leads to a more dynamic part and ends with a short vocal part sung in English that conjures up the image of a young woman sitting on the legs of a stranger, still waiting to find the right man... Then comes the long, complex "Phoebus" that every now and again could recall Genesis and Gentle Giant. It's sung in English and tells in music and words the dark story of a dwarf that kills for vengeance and runs away but, in my opinion, this track is heavily penalised by vocals that here are not completely up to the task...

The dreamy atmospheres of the instrumental "Melodia di fine autunno" (Melody of late autumn) lead to the reflective "Aria e vento" (Air and wind), an intricate piece that, as you can guess from the subtitle, is about the doubts you can experience when confronted with the disclosure of your own anxieties. Confess or not confess you sins? Can you trust other people and open your heart feeling a sense of freedom or is it better keeping your secrets well locked up in a tower without windows nor walls? Sometimes it's a hard choice and maybe you'd better take it easy and follow your fate... This time the vocals are in Italian and succeed in delivering a strong emotional impact.

The last track, "5/5/1555", is a suite that recalls Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and is divided into three parts. It stages an imaginary dialogue, set on May 5, 1955, between the duke of Parma and his son about the combined marriage with the daughter of the king of France. The young man is in love with another girl, but the father tries to push him to take a decision with his brain and not with his heart. The first part is subtitled "Mattina" (Morning) and here we can listen to the duke telling his son to bury his bravery and to keep quiet his pride. The son is bewildered, confused, he can't think... The second part is subtitled "Pomeriggio" (Afternoon) and is completely instrumental, it's up to the your imagination figuring out the troubles of the young man who has to choose between love and power... The third part is subtitled "Sera" (Evening) and it's where the son makes up his mind: although he cries for a while, his love slowly fades away in the name of the reason of the state...

On the whole, a good album that deserves a try!