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Elegant and romantic, Baustelle emerged from the Italian underground scene at the end of the 1990s and, with record after record, they built a fan base big enough for the band to enter the mainstream market without compromising its artistic integrity and, most of all, the quality of its albums. Baustelle (a German word meaning "work in progress") formed in the Tuscan town of Montepulciano, their lineup including Francesco Bianconi (vocals, guitar), Rachele Bastreghi (vocals, keyboards), keyboardist Fabrizio Massara, and guitarist Claudio Brasini. Produced by Amerigo Verardi, their first album, Sussidiario Illustrato della Giovinezza, was released in 2000 by indie label Baracca & Burattini and, thanks to its extremely peculiar blend of Italian pop tradition, British pop (Pulp, the Smiths), and French chanson (Serge Gainsbourg) mixed with 1960s naiveté and 1980s imagery, it was immediately saluted by the critics as one of the best Italian debuts of the year. The same formula was improv...