Poco zucchero arrives as the second studio album from Italian singer‑songwriter Faust'O, released in May 1979 on the Ascolto label and co‑produced with guitarist Alberto Radius. Spanning just over 33 minutes across eight tracks, the album marks a decisive turn toward the new‑wave sounds that were reshaping European pop at the end of the decade, trading traditional cantautore instrumentation for synths, drum machines and a cooler, more angular production aesthetic. While Faust'O writes both music and lyrics for nearly every song (with the exception of "Vincent Price," whose text is penned by Oscar Avogadro), the arrangements pull in a roster of heavyweight Italian session players: Tullio De Piscopo and Walter Calloni on drums and percussion, Julius Farmer on bass, Franco Graniero and Luigi Tonet on keyboards and synths, Claudio Pascoli on sax, and backing vocals from Jason Barton and Paola Orlandi.

The album's calling card is "Oh! Oh! Oh!", the track that became Faust'O's most celebrated song and earned a spot in the 1979 Festivalbar selection, pushing the album into wider visibility. But Poco zucchero is far from a one‑hit collection. Tracks like "Vincent Price," "Cosa rimane," "Attori malinconici," "In tua assenza," "Kleenex," "Il lungo addio" and the sprawling seven‑minute closer "Funerale a Praga" sketch out a world of melancholic actors, long goodbyes and absences that linger like shadows. Faust'O's vocal delivery is understated and conversational, more interested in mood and phrasing than melodrama, letting the synth‑heavy arrangements carry much of the emotional weight. The production feels both radio‑friendly and deliberately off‑center, balancing hooks with a subtle dissonance that keeps the music from settling into easy listening territory.