Gionatan Scali Returns with Distortion-Soaked Indie Anthem ‘Best Self’

Italian-born, London-based artist Gionatan Scali is back with 'Best Self', a grunge-tinged indie anthem that feels like the sound of ten years of life, reflection, and musical growth packed into one track. The single also serves as the title track for his third album, marking a full decade since he made the leap to London.

Right from the first riff, 'Best Self' grabs you with punchy, hook-heavy guitars and a deliciously crunchy distortion that somehow feels both raw and carefully crafted. It’s got that late-2000s indie vibe you can’t help but nod along to, but with enough modern polish to feel totally current. Scali’s vocals are unflinchingly honest, layered atop instrumentation that’s equal parts jagged and melodic, think the off-kilter energy of Geese mixed with the slacker-poet charm of Kurt Vile, but unmistakably his own.

Scali’s journey hasn’t been straightforward. Performing in Italy under the moniker Johnny Fishborn, he built a guitar-driven following before uprooting to London in 2015, shedding his old identity and starting fresh. That period of survival, reinvention, and self-discovery is distilled perfectly in this track, both confrontational and liberating.

At the heart of his sound is The Diagonal House, his long-term creative base, where dissonant chords, unconventional textures, and personal storytelling come together. 'Best Self' feels like the first fully realized statement from that space, a track that’s raw, reflective, and proudly Scali. It’s the perfect snapshot of a decade in the making: distortion-soaked, emotionally honest, and impossible to ignore.

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