Review: BIRTHH – “Breathless”

Reviews

BIRTHH-Senza-Fiato-album-2026.

“Breathless” is an expression that in Italian works in two opposite directions: wonder and anxiety. Alice Bisi knows this, and she built an entire album around it.

Fourth album in his career, first entirely in Italian, “Senza breath” arrives after three albums in English and a decade spent building Birthh as an international project. The leap into the native language might seem like a retreat. Listening to it, you understand that it is the exact opposite.

The album is as if it were a sound diary of a life divided between Italy and New York, in search of a new identity in a world dominated by conflicts and tensions.

Co-produced with Chef P, the album triggers a tension between Italian songwriting and urban production which, on paper, would suggest a gamble, but here it immediately finds balance.

The album is a continuous flow, not only lyrical. The pieces are connected to each other, almost as if they were a single whole like the passage from Terminal at Trumana perfect sonic and poetic transition.

The already published Little Rat it is among the most focused pieces, the disorientation becomes rhythm rather than lament, the verses cut without excessive weight, the writing is fast and precise.

Good (alone) it is a statement of self-determination, while Total Black (also already published) hits hip-hop with an almost reggaeton-like ambition without asking permission. Ten tracks that alternate acoustic ballads, electronic leaps, sudden register changes. The album fights with itself and then makes peace, with an emotional logic that makes more sense than the formal one.

It all ends with the title track, the only track above three, four and twenty minutes of sober orchestral arrangement that evokes Mina without imitating her.

“Senza breath” is not a resolved album, it is discontinuous, the pieces seem to belong to different spheres that collide before finding a precarious agreement. But it is exactly that precariousness that makes it credible. He has the honesty of someone who doesn't yet know where he will land, and he doesn't pretend otherwise. It's a record about the late twenties really written at the end of the twenties, without the reassuring distance of nostalgia to smooth the edges.

A talent that worked in English. In Italian it works better and definitely leaves you “breathless”!

SCORE: 7.50

TO LISTEN NOW

Little Rat – Terminal – Truman

TO BE SKIPPED IMMEDIATELY

Just under half an hour, enjoyable and it works.

1. Jumanji
2. Little Rat
3. Terminal
4. Truman
5. Good (alone)
6. Total Black
7. Hell
8. The Dream
9. Canyons
10. Breathless

DISCOGRAPHY

2016 – Born in the Woods
2020 – Whoa
2023 – Moonlanded
2026 – Breathless

VIDEO

WEB & SOCIAL

facebook.com/woabirthh
@woabirthh

Staff

Written by

Christopher Johnson

Christopher Johnson is a dedicated writer and key contributor to the WECB website, Emerson College's student-run radio station. Passionate about music, radio communication, and journalism, Christopher pursues his craft with a blend of meticulous research and creative flair. His writings on the site cover an array of subjects, from music reviews and artist interviews to event updates and industry news. As an active member of the Emerson College community, Christopher is not only a writer but also an advocate for student involvement, using his work to foster increased engagement and enthusiasm within the school's radio and broadcasting culture. Through his consistent and high-quality outputs, Christopher Johnson helps shape the voice and identity of WECB, truly embodying its motto of being an inclusive, diverse, and enthusiastic music community.