DEPOIS DO FIM

Bacarmate's debut album is a breath of fresh air in the midst of an era what most would consider a dry time for prog. Perhaps it is because this album sounds as if it could have been released a decade earlier than it had been. The symphonic touch of bands like Genesis, ELP, Jethro Tull, and the quirkiness and intensity of Italian band's such as Banco and PFM is certainly there. But its own unique blend of these sounds is enough to separate it from these greats, and into a unique and enjoyable album.

As mentioned, this album definitely has that Symphonic sound, and is mostly drowned in synth to provide the lush atmosphere often associated with the genre, as noticed in the first song 'UFO,' of which the main theme is a divine synth passage. Besides this, there is also frequent usage of acoustic guitar on shorter songs like 'Pássaro De Luz,' and in passages of other songs. The more quirky moments can be found in the shorter 'Caño' and 'Controversia.' More overall, the album attains a rather upbeat and intense feeling, a la Banco, except for some of the more acoustically driven sections as mentioned, but is always melodic and interesting. This makes this a pretty diverse album overall.

The songs themselves aren't terribly long, but still manage to be quite diverse in their song structure and instrument choice, which includes tons of synth (used both atmospherically and melodically), frequent use of flute, and female vocals in Portuguese. 'Último Entardecer' is obviously the only exception length-wise, coming in at nearly 10-minutes, and is probably the best song on an album which really has no weak songs.

While it may not be the most as groundbreaking as the Genesis and Yes of a decade earlier, this is a solid listen from beginning to end, and should not be passed up by symphonic prog fans. It is a shame they were never able to record an album of this caliber again.

8/10