LIVE: WAVES FROM THE UNDERGROUND

Daal's from the Underground

This happens from time to time: when a band we like releases two albums at once. This year, DAAL did just that, and unlike Echolyn, whose double release didn't entirely convince me, DAAL delivered two powerful and contrasting works.

DAAL has been one of the most consistent progressive bands of recent years. Since 2018's "Decalogue of Darkness," perhaps their masterpiece, they have maintained a high standard, with previous works like "Dodecahedron" (2012) also standing out. Their music is hard to define: dark, immersive, and primarily instrumental, built around the sonic vision of keyboardist Alfio Costa, with support from Davide Guidoni, Ettore Salati, and Bobo Aiolfi.

Live: "Waves from the Underground" was recorded in 2023 at Studiosette in Rome and consists of improvised sessions. It includes reinterpretations of older tracks like "Brain Melody" and "Decalogue Part I," but in this live jam format, they take on a new life. The tracks on "W.F.T.U.," each referencing a specific historical date and geographic coordinate, add a conceptual layer, making the album more than just a typical live album.

Musically, this album explores a rawer, more experimental side of DAAL. It leans toward late-'60s German electro-prog, space rock vibes reminiscent of Hawkwind, and the avant-garde tension of bands like Art Zoyd. It's the perfect counterpoint to the dense and claustrophobic Decoding the Emptiness. Where that album plunges you into darkness, this one offers energy, risk, and freedom.

In a year in which DAAL has already released one of their best studio efforts, Live: Waves from the Underground arrives not as an afterthought, but as an essential accompaniment: an expansion of their sound and spirit. Personally, I've been listening to it more often. I enjoy the exploratory, improvisational side of progressive music, and this album fills that need perfectly.

I really enjoyed this record even more than Decoding the Emptiness, I'm more into the experimental side but both records are truly outstanding.

Once upon a time there were New Trolls, who in their best album "Concerto Grosso I" dedicated an entire side to studio improvisations. A couple of years earlier "Ummagumma" included a live album, and a studio album that had the flavor of experimental compositions. Daal must have treasured the past teachings, and as per their tradition, they surprise us with their "live" album recorded in the studio throughout 2023. "Live: Waves From The Underground" is composed of intense improvised sessions starting from the ten-minute long "WFTU 09.03.2020 (45°41'42''N 9°40'12''E)", and immediately it seems to breathe the air of the studio with the magical atmosphere that is created inside, when the components merge through the alchemy of understanding into a single entity. Spatial sounds chase each other between echo effects, Hammond, Moog and much more. Echoes of V.D.G.G. in the distance?.

In "WFTU 15.09.2008 (51°30'N 0°11'W)" there is the search for an underlying serenity through the most peaceful sounds, a ten-minute improvisation in which Daal lay bare their DNA. You cannot remain indifferent to the guitar solo. This is probably their best improvisation, which pays tribute to the best of the "pre-dark side" Pink Floyd.

"WFTU 26.04.1986 (51°23'21.98''N 30°05'57.01''E)" focuses on Guidoni's percussion research, very tribal and experimental, 70s period in intent. You can hear in the distance some voices probably referring to the Chernobyl disaster (the date of the title confirms this hypothesis)

"Daeconstruction Brain Melody" and "Daeconstruction Decalogue part. I" are two experiments of already existing songs, in which the duo breaks down and recomposes the various parts in a completely different way compared to the original, wide instrumental openings, give the songs a new and unprecedented light: these songs are probably among the best things of the group.

"W.F.T.U. 20.07.1969 (8°30'N 31°24'E)", another approach in which the keyboards envelop everything. Another twelve and a half minute suite is "W.F.T.U. 01.09.1928 (51°31'2'N 0°10'23'W)", here the instruments are heard interacting in a Jazz-based approach. The excellent contribution of Bobo Aiolfi's bass is worth highlighting.

"W.F.T.U. 02.06.1946 (41°53'35'N 12°28'58'E)" once again marries the cause of percussion and keyboards, dragging the listener towards the conclusive "W.F.T.U. 25.07.1943 (41°53'46.32''N 12°28'53.4''E)", a setting closer to the canonical Progressive Rock.

Daal experiment and improvise nine unpredictable, dirty, scratchy, dynamic sound tracks, which offer a different perspective of a group that never ceases to surprise.