“Insert Coin“...rattle, rattle, clang, clang...and then it starts.
The machine works and spits out what has been paid.
One could interpret the title of the new 4-track EP as a band that gets going as soon as money is given to them. Just like a machine.
Another interpretation is certainly to let oneself be taken away by the machine into a fictional world. A world that might be better, or perhaps worse, than the real world we live in.
There are surely many other interpretative possibilities, especially relating to the lyrics of the four songs. I can't assess this precisely, as I am not very proficient in the Italian language. It would have been nice if the lyrics printed in the fold-out digipack had also been printed in German or English translation.
But what are lyrics when music is the universal language?
After TALCO fought through the pandemic, with their pandemic-related acoustic concept TALCO MASKERADE, they were even able to perform some concerts during the pandemic, they are now returning to loud, electrically amplified music.
It’s as if the pandemic never happened. TALCO pick up exactly where they left off with “And the winner isn’t.”
On one hand, this is wonderful, as it immediately brings back memories of great live evenings where the band and the audience gave their all. People danced, sang, held each other, and forgot space and time. Yes, the four songs from “Insert Coin” are just like TALCO were before the pandemic. They haven’t changed one bit.
On the other hand, it gives the impression that the band hasn’t developed at all. The recipe from the last seven albums has been working for years, so why change anything?
So what is the conclusion of “Insert Coin”?
The coin has two sides, and so does the conclusion.
It’s great that TALCO is still full of energy and continues to do what the fans and the band enjoy. However, always going full throttle, as I also experienced at the band’s last concerts, can be tiring in the long run.
Whether the band makes you feel tired or wakes you up, everyone can try out this year at the concerts of the fantastic festival tour “Punk in Drublic,” where the Italians from Marghera (Venice) are the only European band present at every gig.
