A fun new band is Italy’s Altre di B. The band’s debut effort, “There’s A Million Better Bands,” just dropped and the outcome is a catchy mix of punk and rock. Altre di B is sort of like that self-deprecating comedian who always puts himself down. In this sense, the Italian bred quartet professes, like the title of their album, that there essentially are a million better bands out there.
The band has been playing together for five years and what I love about them is that, although they seem ordinary on the surface, Altre di B is actually a very good group. In their biography it reads: “And we love our name because is a sort of mediocrity manifesto; we are second-rate football players. We play together since 2006 and we’re gone everywhere driving through Naples, Milan, Turin and Bologne on Volkswagen’s Multivan. A dive into the Seventies.
Influenced by the school teaching, by people, by losses, by literature, by trips, by magazines, by puppet government, by fever, by job, by statistics, by bad language, by Jonathan Coe and his amazing books; we sing in English because everybody do this.”
This biography is indicative of a band that lacks self-confidence it its ability to play music. But like the self-deprecating comedian who continually puts himself down, Altre di B continues to march on with their own brand of punk. There may be a million better bands out there, but often times these bands lack identity.
If anything, fans will feel empathy for Altre di B and possibly end up falling for their “act.” After all, it worked for Rodney Dangerfield. For years, the comedian said, “I don’t get no respect!” In actuality, he got a lot of respect. Don’t be surprised if Altre di B does as well.