{"id":14490,"date":"2022-04-29T09:13:16","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T07:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digipur.it\/?p=14490"},"modified":"2022-04-29T09:13:16","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T07:13:16","slug":"clever-square-brand-new-album-secret-alliance-is-out-today-april-29th-2022-on-bronson-recordings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digipur.it\/en\/clever-square-brand-new-album-secret-alliance-is-out-today-april-29th-2022-on-bronson-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"Clever Square: brand new album “Secret Alliance” is out today April 29th, 2022 on Bronson Recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Giacomo D\u2019Attorre<\/strong>\u00a0– lead singer of\u00a0Clever Square<\/strong>\u00a0– has been through a lot of late. With his band, completed by Francesco Lima, Andrea Ferriani and\u00a0Andrea Napolitano. In his personal life. Even just with the state of the world. You could say it\u2019s getting old – he recently turned 30 – but it\u2019s just life. It comes at you fast. \u201cCrazy\u00a0<\/em>fast,\u201d says D\u2019Attorre. \u201cI just don\u2019t get it most of the time, but I guess we all feel like that in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the fire that fuels Clever Square\u2019s new record\u00a0Secret Alliance<\/em><\/strong>, out today\u00a0April 29th, 2022<\/strong>\u00a0on vinyl and digital on\u00a0Bronson Recordings<\/strong>, eleven tracks that explore feelings of frustration, disillusionment, and disconnection. They chronicle what it\u2019s like to be swept along by a world that \u201cgets noisier everyday\u201d, and to lose sight of makes us who we are. They paint a picture of a very modern malaise \u2013 one that\u2019s likely to strike a chord among many, and one that\u2019s increasingly hard to escape.<\/p>\n

Secret Alliance<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>was inspired by a creeping realisation; of coming change, and a sense that D\u2019Attorre was \u201closing contact with who I was before, for the good and the bad.\u201d New needs and desires surfaced; old ones disappeared. It struck D\u2019Attorre that even the very language he used to communicate with the wider world – and it to him – was changing virtually before his eyes. \u201cOminous,\u201d is how he describes this revelation. \u201cAnd alienating. But it\u2019s also exciting \u2013 it forces you to start over and gives new meaning to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus he began writing around ideas of rethinking yourself, and \u201cacquiring a new conscience of mutation<\/em>\u201d. About always feeling out of place, and that crawling sense of dread it inspires. The darker realms of science fiction informed much of D\u2019Attorre\u2019s thinking here; \u201cit just fitted so well with the mood,\u201d he says. Philip K. Dick was an obvious touchpoint, but so too Ray Bradbury \u2013 the new single\u00a0Mr. & Mrs. K<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0was inspired by\u00a0the beginning of\u00a0The Martian Chronicles<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 and Flannery O\u2019Connor, whose\u00a0The Violent Bear It Away\u00a0<\/em>proved particularly inspiring.\u00a0\u201cMr. & Mrs. K<\/em>\u00a0is a song about a couple of aliens who, tired of the world they live in, decide to venture outside of it. It might happen at some point in life that you\u2019ll find yourself in a ‘safe area’ and it\u2019s not always a good idea to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

The imagery D\u2019Attorre conjures reflects this; foreboding vignettes abound. He sings of being \u201cRattled in meaningless masses<\/em>\u201d, \u201cAged in mysterious medications<\/em>\u201d, and how \u201cSometimes I feel imprisoned<\/em>\u201d. Imprisoned by what, precisely? \u201cWe have a fence around us, a \u20ac1,000 a month fence,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe cannot escape.\u201d This theme is repeated elsewhere; \u201cEmpty wallets and white-collar pith<\/em>\u201d, he sings on the song\u00a0Curse Of The Dime<\/em>, an aptly descriptive title.<\/p>\n

All of this is perfectly framed by Clever Square\u2019s shuffling, quirky indie, and cute melodies. Soft and worn around the edges, like the perfect flannel shirt, there\u2019s a gentle, shambling quality to the music; \u201cblue collar\u201d, D\u2019Attorre calls it. Guitar lines gently bloom, Fender Rhodes organ is sprinkled throughout, and the acoustic strumming sounds easy and unhurried. Sax by Jacopo Finelli from Leatherette is a subtle, hushed detail on the first single\u00a0Kites From The Noodle Kingdom<\/strong><\/em>, while the crescendo that closes\u00a0Sham In The Academic Career<\/em>\u00a0– the noisiest the band allow themselves to get – is a sugar rush of anthemic adrenaline.<\/p>\n

The music provides a stark contrast to some of the lyrical content, but also serves as the perfect frame; \u201cI wanted the lyrics to be heard more this time,\u201d says D\u2019Attorre. \u201cI wanted them to hit home.\u201d His soft, understated delivery is never showy or domineering, simply placing the message front and centre; occasionally he detours into the upper registers, or quietens to just above a whisper. Even in the nosier moments his voice remains poised and restrained, letting the words do all the emotional heavy lifting. Best of all is\u00a0Secret Alliance\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0lone duet,\u00a0Soccer Rules<\/em><\/strong>; the record\u2019s second single, it sees Eugenia from fellow Italian indie band\u00a0Eugenia Post Meridiem<\/strong>\u00a0wrap her warm, lush voice around D\u2019Attorre\u2019s words, the perfect foil for the song\u2019s gentle, rambling vibe.<\/p>\n

From the relaxed bustle and acoustic picking of\u00a0Hail The Proper Karl<\/em>, to the joyous, bouncy\u00a0Little Flaws<\/em>; from the stripped back melancholy of\u00a0Obsolete Epsilons<\/em>\u00a0to the arena-ready vibes of indie classic\u00a0Golden Wires<\/em>, D\u2019Attorre has crafted a spell-binding, mesmerizing set of songs that delight on first listen and reward deeper inspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hymn to privacy, to the joys of secrecy, and solitude,\u201d he says of\u00a0Secret Alliance<\/em><\/strong>. That he wraps such heartfelt, profound topics in gloriously laid-back indie adds to the charm, and cements\u00a0Clever Square<\/strong>\u2019s status as one of Italy\u2019s finest contemporary bands. The world might seem increasingly complex and be spinning ever faster, but\u00a0Secret Alliance<\/em>slows it down just enough to savour the scenery and think about charting a path back to something a little more manageable.<\/p>\n