I had discovered the group Leda with guilty delay, but for them it was love at first sight, or rather, at first listen. The technical times for an "official" review were now exceeded but I still felt the need to dedicate some space to them on my personal blog, where music often reigns supreme. After all, in an era in which the adage seems to be something like: "there is a lack of guitars, rock groups", they were keen to demonstrate the opposite, creating powerful, evocative songs, with a strong rock imprint, of nineties origin, but with a very current sound system.
In their music it seemed to flow the blood of bands that I love viscerally, starting with Scisma and Marlene Kuntz, but everything grafted into a personal formula, with the combination of words/sounds that especially in some tracks was perfect. Since then I have not lost sight of them and I admit that I was very curious to listen to their sophomore, who had the task of not only confirming the excellent intuitions of the debut "Memorie dal futuro" but possibly of expanding their artistic baggage.
With a lineup now established with the entry of Giorgio Baioni on bass, Leda lays its foundations on the talent and personality of its frontwoman Serena Abrami, on the undoubted technical qualities of guitarist Enrico Vitali and on the expressive power of drummer Fabrizio Baioni (who with Giorgio creates a strong and engaging rhythm section), and it is known that when all the ingredients know how to blend in the best way, something exciting can result. With these premises, the wait to listen to the new work had been felt and it must be admitted that the sensations aroused by the evocative single of the same name had already been good, being a song that is musically solid and evocative in the right way in terms of imagery.
The musical structure reiterates certain rock coordinates but the addition of spice is given by a use, never invasive but certainly more prominent, of electronics, which pervades the album at an atmospheric level, connoting it with dark-wave implications, thus putting darkness in the foreground more than colors. However, we should not interpret this album as pessimistic or negative, because the energy is always notable, as is the propulsive thrust of the opening track "Il politicante". The lyrics are perhaps the most direct ever produced by Abrami and at the same time moves a pressing music, where each instrument prepares the ground for the explosive refrain in a sort of emotional climax.
The mood changes considerably as we continue in the tracklist, and it is a very pleasant surprise that we encounter at the height of "Niente è lo medesimo": the pressing spoken/recited by Serena, accompanied by the rhythmic pace causes a sensation of total envelopment. We could venture an unusual comparison with Massimo Volume but everything then explodes, after the initial storm, in an immediate chorus full of pathos.
The third track is a bit disconcerting for its unprecedented initial power, with a grunge flavour, while it glides into apparently softer territories with “Insonnia”, whose messages actually seem cryptic, not to say sinister. It is here that dark electronics come into play more, and it is natural to also include Depeche Mode among the influences of the quartet from the Marche. We continue without a hitch until the end, happily also coming across a real gem, which sees the singer-songwriter Paolo Benvegnù as the protagonist together with our guys, almost as if to underline the affinities – found especially in the debut album – with his Scisma.
“Tu mi bruci” has a mysterious aura, it exudes charm and intrigues with its refined musical solutions, as if to make us understand that in the strings of Leda, in the background of its protagonists, there is also room for authorial music. A further clue in this sense comes to our aid with the poignant “Quasi ombra” which closes the album relying on soft and dreamy tones. The test of the second album is therefore passed with flying colors, with a formula that has consolidated by inserting different elements.
Musically, the group, if we want, appears more cohesive, even though in reality it has shown more versatility and heterogeneity, while on the voice, what else is there to add? I think Abrami's is one of the most beautiful around in terms of expressiveness, intonation and ability to capture you from the first notes. And his writing is also particularly interesting, very evocative, which translates into incisive lyrics but without disdaining some poetic touches, strong in a metric that can recall the style dear to a certain Giovanni Lindo Ferretti.
Italian rock seems to be able to look to the future with renewed confidence, and if a new renaissance is really possible we will owe it to those new bands that have been able to bring it back into fashion, taking example from the greats of the past but at the same time proposing a new mix. And in this sense, alongside the often (rightly) mentioned names of Gomma and Post Nebbia, from now on it will also be necessary to add that of Leda. Translated from: https://www.indieforbunnies.com/2022/06/22/leda-marocco-speed/
