WINTERTHROUGH

In 2004 the Italian six piece band Hostsonaten released a compilation CD that contains material recorded between 1992 and 2002. I was very pleased with the music and therefore looking forward to this new studio album, six years after their previous effort entitled Springsong.

You can divide the ten compositions on this CD in seven shorter pieces (between 1 and 4 minutes) and three longer songs (between 6 and 13 minutes). The shorter songs are very tastefully coloured with a wide range of instruments, from frequently twanging acoustic guitars and assorted percussion to electric guitar and - piano, vintage keyboards and woodwind - and brass instruments. The climates change from dreamy and compelling to mid-tempo (Snowstorm with a strong final part delivering choir-Mellotron and moving guitar work) and a fluent rhythm like in the short but exciting Outside in which we can enjoy Minimoog flights, choir-Mellotron and Moog Taurus bass pedals, like Wind And Wuthering Genesis, I love it! The 3 long compositions deserve to be described separately, first Entering The Halls Of Winter (10 minutes): the first part sounds like a bolero with tender Grand piano and then slowly other instruments (like soft drums and bass, violin-Mellotron and brass), followed by heavy choir-Mellotron waves and a compeling part with howling guitar and propulsive drums and finally wonderful interplay between piano, clarinet and choir-Mellotron, culminating into a grand finale with a French horn. The track The Crystal Light (almost 7 minutes) starts with lush choir-Mellotron, then a slow rhythm that turns into a dreamy interlude with twanging guitars and a clarinet solo, concluded with an exciting final part featuring fluent drums, powerful Hammond and spoken words. The long final composition is my highlight on this new Hostsonaten album: first a slow rhythm with sensitive guitar and then splendid parts with breathtaking interplay between Grand piano and violin-Mellotron and sumptuous moments with synthesizers, organ, choir- Mellotron and howling guitar, this is Progheaven!

I needed a few listening sessions to get into this new Hostsonaten CD (also because I am not a fan of woodwind - and brass instruments) but now I am carried away by this wonderful and pleasantly arranged blend of Seventies inspired symphonic rock, classical and folk, a big hand for Hostsonaten!