Review: CHRIS NOLAN - "The Mood Board"

First official album for Chris Nolan, the producer of «Mowgli». She shines with Tedua in The Spider’s Ballad and with the new generation of Latrelle and Neima Ezza. Already heard in the beats tailored for guests.

For many of us, Chris Nolan was the sound of adolescence before he was even a name: “Mowgli” by Tedua we consumed him, and he was behind almost every beat.

For this reason «La Tavola dell’Umour», his first official album, was among the most anticipated albums of the autumn, at least for people like me who grew up with headphones and Genoese rap on loop.

The title is the translation of mood board, and it is a fairly precise statement: a collage of vibes, a table where Nolan puts the sounds and the others put their voices.

We start with Originwhich is not a real song but a spoken intro. Below is a futuristic sound, above a narrative voice that sounds like your conscience as you press play.
Many have done it this year, in the rap records released so far, and Nolan adapts: not a piece as an intro, but a voice.

Then it arrives The Spider’s Ballad with Tedua, and there you immediately understand why these two have been working for years. Nolan builds him a custom baseline and Tedua climbs onto it like a surfer on a high wave, without ever losing his balance. It’s the piece you’ll put back on again and again, guaranteed.

Be well, with Latrelle and Joshua, it is the deepest song on the album. Latrelle, after the feats with Tedua in his mixtape, here proves that he is no longer an emerging artist: he has his own style, a personality that can be recognized from the first bar. Joshua adds his very low voice and harmonizes everything, giving the piece a weight that it wouldn’t have on its own.

With Fight Backfeat Harmann and Alkhazar, the album changes gear: it is the first truly direct piece, full of banger moments, perfect for the gym or for a mosh pit, less so for a second attentive listen.

Seconds of anger It’s the posse cut you’ve been waiting for. Neima Ezza enters strongly and talks about suburbs, social difficulties, experiences that cannot be left behind.
Then Massimo Pericolo returns with a refrain that gets stuck in your head, and at the end there is the usual Tedua to close the track as he knows how to do.

From here on out, a pattern can be seen. Flowers and concrete it has a beat tailored to Jake La Furia, who takes advantage of it to show how well he writes, while Cate Lumina sweetens the piece in the chorus. Lacie it has a very rhythmic beat designed for Sayf’s verse and especially for Gaia’s chorus, who sings exactly in the style we all know from her songs. They work, but they are tailor-made clothes: Nolan makes the others shine and he himself disappears a bit.

The moment you really feel it is Long Lifethe only instrumental. Zero voices, many new sounds which however also recall some of his past works. It’s short, but it’s the track that makes you want to know what Nolan would do if he stopped being the host for a moment.

Shadows it is the quietest piece: the soft and balanced voice of Sarah Toscano, which Nolan had already produced, together with Carl Brave and Guise the Licia, with timbres that complement each other. Nice to hear, hard to remember. The glowwith 18K and First Room on the Right, instead closes with the bravest experiment: here Nolan tries to push his being a producer further than usual, and the two guests are fine with it. It’s the most innovative piece on the album, and also the one that leaves you most curious about what’s to come.

In the end «The mood board» is a half-successful album: when Nolan plays with the people he knows best, or when he dares, it’s a journey.
When he simply serves the perfect beat to the guest, he remains a great producer who sets the table for others. Next round, maybe he’ll sit down too.