DARWIN!

Darwin! was my second Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso album, and in truth, my second Rock Progressivo Italiano record. I do not claim to be an expert in this realm of music, and I certainly don't consider myself even a little bit knowledgeable in the genre's roots, origins or influences. And since I haven't really heard many other bands of this type as of this writing (March 2010), I clearly wouldn't know what else I could compare this album to, but all I can say is that I immensely enjoy this band's music, and this album in particular a whole helluva lot. So despite my ignorance in the matter, I find myself compelled to review this because it truly is so good.

Plenty of originality is present on Darwin! not just on the compositional front, but with the use of the instruments and the presentation itself. I found myself grinning widely whenever I would hear a musical flourish or effect that I didn't expect, and on this album that happened quite a lot. For it to be the year that it is, and for me to have listened to so many different bands from all sorts of various musical genres, getting completely shocked by my music are cherished moments. Perhaps that is why I like what I hear on this album so much; the surprises.

Francesco DiGiacomo's vocals are quite striking and memorable. Since the first Banco album I listened to was the instrumental Garofano Rosso, I had yet to hear the voice of the band when I listened to this one. There is beauty and complexity here, married very successfully with quirkiness and fun-loving performances that make this album soar. Apparently there was a remake of this in the nineties by the same band. I'll probably listen to that one one day too, but I can't imagine why they would even want to dive into past material, especially when it is so wonderful and well-executed as this album is. There was probably a specific reason for re- recording it, but I'm just unaware.

At any rate, this album is just gorgeous, and one of the most interesting listens from this band, hands down. It's also one of the group's best. If you're still very much in the dark about Rock Progressivo Italiano like I am, I would say you could certainly do worse than picking this album up as one of your first ventures into the genre. Banco have certainly peaked my interest, and twice they delivered big for me when first discovering their music. This album is just as good if not better than Garofano Rosso, and I recommend it highly for those curious about this side of Prog, but have yet to take the plunge. Great stuff.

Very happy listening.

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