IL GIOCO DEL SILENZIO

Nichelodeon is a chamber rock orchestra formed around the creative vision and expressive vocals of singer/songwriter Claudio Milano. His theatrical performance will be a feature you either love or hate with little neutral ground inbetween. It places him in the respectably company of notable attention-demanding performers like Hammill, Wyatt, Demetrio Stratos and even Diamada Galas, even though his voice doesn't particularly resemble either one of those artists.

But strong willful vocals won't get you anywhere without solid songs and adequate execution, and luckily the album excels in both departments. The musical accompaniments lean heavily on early 20th century experimental classical music, but at the same time, the music can be soothingly melodic, catchy and lyrical. It isn't as dark or as industrial as many other Avant rock gets these days and I think that this music could have a strong potential towards multiple audiences. If people would just care to take notice of this artist, the future should be looking bright for them.

With the artistic ethic of a band like Area and an album cover that recalls the iconic classics of the early 70s RPI, Nichelodeon strike me as a true inheritors of that scene. Not only do they continue the creative and emotive power of that scene, they also translated it successfully to the 21st century. But the music isn't RPI, it isn't rock for starters, not even chamber rock really, but it rather follows theater music traditions, be it with added hysterics, dissonance and an avant-garde approach to everything. Now, if you still don't have a clue how this may sound, imagine Paolo Conte gone berserk after being locked up in isolation for 2 weeks with nothing to listen to but Alban Berg's "Wozzeck". Insanity guaranteed.

This is a challenging and impressive debut, clearly recognizable as the fruit of many years of writing and performing by a very talented group of artists. Close to a masterpiece!