Review: Split Album Papal Discount House/Schifonoia – Il Declino della Società del Pianto

The decline of this crying society, a split more than a thousand words.

”The decline of this crying society”, a few words that summarize the meaning of the eleven songs this split is made up of, more than fifty minutes of music bred by the collaboration between Papal Discount House and Schifonoia. Two different musical paths that find their meeting point in the conviction that music can be a way of subversion, a tool to ”build an imaginary that dismantles the existent”, as we can read in the descripton of the album. We start with Papal’s side (metaphorically speaking, since I listened to this record digitally), a rush of old school crust punk that wrecks every certainty with a bat. Power, police, repression, the report of an empty existence, subjugated to the dirty mechanisms of this rotten system, a dark atmosphere that surrounds the narration of a dystopian reality, that realistically depicts this historical moment. The only song I couldn’t really figure out was ”Goccine”, but I guess that it’s got its own significance that I just couldn’t understand. You won’t find nothing less on Schifonoia’s side, five tracks of old style punk hardcore with a nerorgasmic (if you don’t really get this adjective, check out the Italian band Nerorgasmo) vibe. At slow pace, like a hammer hitting your head, sentences are pronounced against religion, against radical chic students and fake punks, against ignorance that generates illusion, together with individual thoughts with a huge dose of cynicism (or realism, you choose). Musically speaking, this is a solid, straight to the point record.
Anyway, if you’re looking for some ”fresh” stuff you may be disappointed by this album, but if you love some good old Italian punk hardcore this is definitely your thing. If there’s something that could’ve been improved, it’s the overall quality of the recordings, but this doesn’t really prevent you from fully enjoying the record.
In the end, this is really a cool split, which stimulates a deep reflection on the current state of our society and the disquieting direction that it seems to have taken.
The combo Papal Discount House/Schifonoia does not disappoint, and gives us a really kick-ass record. Good job!

Vote: 7,5/10

You can listen to the full album on Pirate Crew Underground:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RqNMDtt5rE