The Italians are an Italian-British pop-rock band founded in 2009 by British singer-songwriter William Oliver Knight. He had moved from London to Italy to find musical inspiration. In 2015 the original group disbanded and William met bassist Alberto Rigoni. This started a new era for The Italians, which saw the duo add a drummer in Alessandro Miazzi. The first full album ‘Oh Boys What Have You Done’ (2015) was comprised of twelve songs expressing different musical eras. It was a collection of stories with a variety of different characters.
In April 2016 William Knight, Alberto Rigoni and Alessandro Miazzi entered the studio and recorded the ‘Live at the Teatro delle Voci’ EP. They chose four songs from ‘Oh Boys What Have You Done’ to record in a natural atmosphere.
The quirky storylines draw you into the songs. The groove rock of ‘The Strangled Priest’ is a clumsy killing spree which sees the victim face down in his bowl of spaghetti. The bass-driven ‘One Night Vacations’ is gossip about a woman’s reputation and easy virtue. The mid-tempo rock of ‘Super Role Model’ sees the quest for fame take its ultimate toll. The upbeat sound of ‘Hard To Get By’ belies the tale of a chaotic lifestyle.
The sound is retro, in some cases being rough and immediate. Like garage rock, there is no filter. To give a natural sound, there is no editing and definitely no overdubbing. In this way the band wanted to show their musical prowess as if you were hearing them at a live performance.
Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby
Rating: 6/10
Tracks:
1. The Strangled Priest
2. One Night Vacations
3. Super Role Model
4. Hard To Get By
Music and lyrics by William Knight
Vocals & guitars: William Knight
Bass: Alberto Rigoni
Drums: Alessandro Miazzi
Mix and mastering by Marino De Angeli
Record Label: June 2016
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Bandcamp
Video below: ‘Super Role Model’ (live in the studio)