One of Marta Del Grandi's valuable qualities is that of not taking anything for granted. And his new work, “Dream Life”, is confirmation of this, thanks to a perfect balance between art-pop and experimentation, songwriting and arrangements that are always engaging and punctuated by unexpected ideas and reversals. In short, after the already excellent performances of a mainly folk nature, the musician now makes artistic eclecticism not only a creative source from which to draw, but her strong point.
From these premises it was not at all obvious to maintain such a cohesive underlying vision, but the excellent work in the production phase and the attention dedicated to every single detail in the composition of lyrics and arrangements stem the danger of a frayed collection. But, more than any type of finishing work, to allow for fluidity in a tracklist so multifaceted is the chameleon-like spontaneity with which Del Grandi carries out his sonic metamorphoses, embracing different genres even within the same song. Pop, funk, jazz and a splash of progressive music find an exceptional and lively synthesis in “Antarctica” and in the rhythmic robustness of “Neon Lights”. And this playful dimension emerges even more clearly in title trackwhere reflections with transformative political potential are covered in a cloak of folk-pop lightness and accompanied by an ironic video clip. The experiments with electronic instrumentation, however, lead the Milanese singer-songwriter to the restless pulsation of “20 Days Of Summer” and to the dilated spaces in which the duet with Fenne Kuppens (“Some Days”) and the enveloping instrumental cloud “Gold Mine” are immersed.
Two songs, however, stand out as the two small compositional masterpieces of this collection, which confirm Marta Del Grandi as one of the most original and daring authors active in Europe in recent years. The extraordinary mini-symphony chamber folk “Alpha Centauri” condenses folk descriptions and an epic inspiration in four and a half minutes in the wake of Black Country's recent narrative efforts, New Road. Here the ecstatic momentum is ignited by the orchestral system which illuminates the tones of the piece as if it were the earthly mirror of the star system which gives the composition its title. The ballad that closes the collection has an immediate emotional impact. Initially stripped down and progressively enriched by horns and drums, “Oh My Father” movingly explores the complexity of the parent-daughter relationship and its evolution over time. Del Grandi could not find more delicate – and simply beautiful – notes to close “Dream Life”, bringing the listener back to the profound materiality of what is for many people one of the founding relationships of their existence.
It is therefore a record that talks about dreams but also about reality and small everyday things and does so with a refined and creative musical spirit that enchants more and more with every listen. Confirming the fact that, sometimes, the boundary between the dream world and reality is more blurred than one might think. Discerning between the two realms therefore becomes a question of point of view or, better, of one's positioning towards the world, which, as Adrienne Rich and Donna Haraway teach us, always remains a political act.
If nothing is real
Can I take control?
Do any of my actions matter at all?
If I could go back in time
do it all over again.Dream life, how can you tell if it's real?
Oh let me see it through your eyes
don't make it disappear!
02/01/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
