LA SPOSA DEL TEMPO

Marchesi Scamorza started out in 2009 as a covers band but nowadays operate as a fully self- sufficient prog rock act. Last year they recorded their first full-length album 'La Sposa Del Tempo' in the countryside around their native Ferrara in northern Italy and I somehow imagine the band standing on the hump of a hill as they survey the surrounding landscape - with an open view in all directions to different topographical features representing the accumulated musical experiences of the boys in the band. As the songs unfold we are confronted with asymmetric structures and Neo-Prog excoriations, flickering tints of Trespass-era keyboards and Hackettian guitar elevations, the cantautori tradition harbouring alongside mellow West Coast vibes, and even some electronic shading to provide real diversity. All are rolled out like a map across the album's nine tracks but its natural essence is the RPI.

This empathy for the RPI of the seventies clearly drives Marchesi Scamorza but while their list of influences reads like a who's who of Italian prog rock one might wonder if they can walk the walk themselves. Well, typical Italian eclecticism is a key principle in their music, as is spontaneous self-expression - vocalist Enrico Bernardini may not be to everyone's taste but he can't be faulted for his passion and his voice has a wistful quality that I find appealing; and he undoubtedly leaves a lasting impression, just ask the boys in the Den - but the combination of dynamism and changeability they so readily embrace can at times result in a disjointed rawness, a certain earthiness that nonetheless makes this every inch an RPI album. For sure there is scope for some improvement but no major surgery is required, just minor tinkering, because there's some great music packed away in here. And if these guys can sustain their current efforts they should have a very healthy prognosis.