FEBO

The release of the documental ''Alder'' was the precursor of a new start for L' Estate di San Martino.However the band had to face the sudden loss of guitarist Adolfo Broegg and the recordings of the new album included the guitar piece ''Memoria'' recorded by Broegg in 1993, just about when the band tried to make a comeback after a decade of silence.The new album ''Febo'' was released in 2007 again on BTF and it was once more a concept work around a teenage boy, who was a genius of computer science.

The group had to be emotionally charged with the loss of Broegg and this seems to had a great impact on the new album, which sounds as series of tight, atmospheric and laid-back pieces full with intense Italian vocals and dreamy soundscapes.Stylistically L' Estate di San Martino never abandoned the soft symphonic style of their early years, they just colored their sound with more emotional moments and more sensitive songwriting, while the instrumental themes were a bit limited.There are some pretty nice changes between acoustic soundscapes and electric passages, always melodic and filled with very good vocal work.The sound sometimes evokes the 80's/90's works of CAMEL on the melodic arrangements, laid-back compositions with very intense and deeply esoteric researches.Synthesizers, piano, flutes and light saxes are also present to add specific moods and the atmosphere on the instrumental themes sometimes even flirts with New Age music.Do not get dissapointed though, because the music will strike your emotions at once (and indeed ''Memoria'' with Broegg on guitars is simply great), while a few tracks are grounded in the old-school symphonic style like the organ/guitar-driven ''Amoris Odores'', the synth-driven and highly melodic ''Laetitia'' or the closing rich-sounding ''Sole''.

A nice discovery for fans of CAMEL-esque melodic and quite soft Progressive Rock, which lacks dynamics, but contains a heavy amount of emotional-driven compositions.Warmly recommended.