Since having established themselves as kings of abrasive alt-rock in Italy in the mid-'90s, Marlene Kuntz have started experiment with their sound, always with commendable ambition, but occasionally with mixed results. Undeniably, the progressive taming of their sonic fury has clearly helped Marlene Kuntz reach massive appeal, while many an early fan has learned to watch the band's evolution with growing apprehension. Uno is the latest of Marlene Kuntz's reinventions, furthering the toned-down approach of their impressive live acoustic set S-Low. The original key influences of '80s noise-art rock, such as Sonic Youth and Einstürzende Neubaten, have definitely given way to a U2 or Radiohead-like interest in dense sonic texturing, where bursts of electric guitars are kept in check by piano, acoustic guitars, and electronica. This is an album that oozes repressed electricity, but seldom lets it explode. Uno is a menacing hush that is relentless, an impression created by producer and permanent collaborator Gianni Maroccolo's omnipresent bass, as well as by Cristiano Godano's spiraling melodies, that keep rising and falling, circling and circling. Godano is the main surprise here. He seems bent on trading his trademark shrieking for an intimate low register, and his convoluted metaphors for a more personal, singer/songwriter approach. Uno is ostensibly an album about love, even if often expressed through a dark, fatalist romanticism in which betrayal and incomprehension would ultimately always have the upper hand. Marlene Kuntz (and Godano's lyrics, in particular) have always been a grandiloquent act: they are capable of causing an awesome shock effect, but they can also come dangerously close to pretentiousness. The shock effect in Uno lasts for at least the first three tracks Canto, Musa (with guest piano by legend Paolo Conte, of all people!) and 111, where Marlene Kuntz's new sonic and literary identity is vividly realized. After that, the album becomes rather monotonous, and their shortcomings (especially in the lyrics) start to show, even if here and there a song rises above the rest -- notably the closer that gives this record its title. It is not that some songs, individually, are much better than the others, because if there is something that Uno certainly does not lack it's consistency (of sound, vision, etc.). Rather, that they are all pretty much the same, and they simply cannot sustain interest for the entire 57 minutes the album lasts. Highly impressive in small doses, but redundant in the long run, Uno is yet another defiantly innovative chapter in Marlene Kuntz's challenging discography. ~ Mariano Prunes, Rovi

1		Canto
2		Musa
3		111
4		Canzone Ecologica
5		Fantasmi
6		La Ballata Dell'ignavo
7		Abbracciami
8		Sapore di Miele
9		Canzone Sensuale
10		Negli Abissi Fra I Palpiti
11		Stato d'Animo
12		Uno

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