ASSALTO ALLE NUVOLE

Let me say SNC were completely a different project from La Compagnia Digitale, as for their soundscape and formation (the members written upon the album sleeve by SNC should be different from the ones of La Compagnia Digitale, just kidding though).

SNC were considered as an offshoot (or the same one) of La Compagnia Digitale, founded by Ciro Perrino who had played drums in Celeste. Although they had not launched any official release during their lifetime, Mellow Records collected and arranged their live material and released as their posthumous album in 1994 - this creation per se.

My very first impression for SNC's album "Assalto Alle Nuvole" was that they might be a pure Rock Progressivo Italiano (abbreviated to RPI) project seasoned with slight psychedelic spice (not typical RPI but the titled track is the closest to purified RPI methinks). Actually the first track "Chanson Pour Nora" consists of wonderful dreamy melodies based upon flexible Italian chorus, voices and a bubbled guitar solo, just as a beautiful but fragile RPI stream like Celeste meets old-fashioned psychedelic rock in late 60s. The wind of sound has shifted, "Avez Vous Jamais Vu?" or "Dedicato Ad Una Foglia" features delightful familial voices & chorus, invaded by warped guitar sounds and spacey electronic chops like La Compagnia Digitale (we can barely feel something of them here ... the latter one reminds me something of a Japanese psychedelic pioneer like Apryl Fool). The third track "Nel Giardino Deo Ghiri" slightly leans toward Oriental tribal percussion splashes, a very interesting one.

The last "Controllocchio" should not completely have RPI vein, nor pure psychedelic let me say. Namely, the song can be considered as a long experimental / loose jamming one, unlimitedly close to Krautrock. Yes La Compagnia Digitale had some Kraut-ish flavour too, and SNC could be a successor of such a mysterious flavour in this one. However, the latter part of "Controllocchio" gets mellow, dreamy, delightful universe, tinged with RPI essence. This is the very reason we can see the boundaries among psychedelic progressive, Krautrock, and RPI. Quite interesting collection of their live recordings, please enjoy this magical tour.