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Controtempo - Controtempo CD (album) cover

CONTROTEMPO

Controtempo

 

Rock Progressivo Italiano

3.02 | 8 ratings

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Windhawk
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Italian band CONTROTEMPO was an active unit back in the 1990's, but never came round to releasing any material back then. They did record just about an albums worth of material back in 1998 however, and when small indie label Psych Up Melodies was given the chance to enhance these recordings and release them they grabbed that opportunity.

This just under 40 minutes long affair is a fairly nice one too. Apart from the fifth piece Vierno Vene, with it's disco-tinged lounge music arrangement that is. Admittedly well made, but it takes much more then merely well made material for me to enjoy that type of music.

The majority of the other compositions are of a rather different character however. Opening piece Guerra has a few harder edged passages that remind ever so slightly of Rush, Jesce O Sole sports a recurring accordion driven, folk oriented affair and concluding track Nun Dicere Niente concludes with an elongated movement with a guitar riff and organ construction central. But apart from these mostly minor deviations we're treated to a band that know their symphonic progressive rock, are fond of symphonic textures in general and familiar with gentler arrangements of the pastoral variety. Acoustic guitars, occasionally replaced by wandering piano, combined with a toned down or otherwise careful organ motif with gentle symphonic backdrops as the alternative options. With ample room for elegant synthesizer soloing in appropriate places. Italian lead vocals, sung in a dialect from what I understand, and the overall mood is a positive and jubilant one. That's about it really.

If you enjoy accessible, mellow, positive symphonic progressive rock performed by a band that most likely know the gentlest sides of classic Genesis by heart, then Controtempo is a band you most likely will enjoy immensely.

Windhawk | 3/5 |

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