AND MOUTH DISAPPEARS

Thanks Goodness I knew nothing about this album and very few about EDERA when "And Mouth Disappears" hit my player. it was a jaw-breaking experience! These neat and glorious little surprises uplift my day among so many sorrowful news we have to face every time.

What do we have here? An exceptional band presenting a conceptual album well inside the best progressive vein. But instead of long tracks, so common for conceptual albums, this product is composed by a series of short tracks, all linked in a manner that the whole flows splendidly. Everything is nicely decorated by poignant and impressive vocals, completed by majestic instrumentation where guitars play the major role.

The basic tunes that permeate the album are vigorous and ambitious, sometimes weird, sometimes pompous, sometimes delicate and the listener knows what to expect since the first chords of the opening track, 'Emptiness'. En suite, the following songs carry us through a diverse atmosphere ranging from gorgeous dreams to obscure and dark landscapes - and we travel for the 50' plus to reach unattainable worlds and impossible grounds. That's the matter that shapes the prog-rock universe, folks!

'Bumps', 'Grains' and 'Cut' are per se wonderful tracks but it's hard to separate them from the entire work, it's more than valuable to check this album as a real plain and flat song. Also noticeable are the almost accentless vocalist singing in English and the overall adequate production; and so many moments and parts to remember: the choir, the keyboards, the solos (voice and guitar). Brilliant!

I shall refrain myself to label "And Mouth Disappears" as a masterpiece - time will say if it'll last; for now, a more than excellent and recommended addition to any prog music collection.

Very strong album by this italian band. Even if I found some moments to be a bit overdramatic - and it is only my opinion - the group is really good at handling a mix of symphonic rock, neo and operatic drama. Don´t expect the average italian symphonic sound from other great outfits of that country (they´re nothing like PFM, Le Orme, Banco, etc). In fact I though they were from England or France before I read in the credits on the CD´s booklet.

The well produced CD is like a long piece of music divided by small parts, with many changing moods and colours. Like a lot of concept albums this is more a vocally affair than an instrumental one. There are good guitar parts, and also some nice piano, but singer Valerio Valentini dominates the album. He has a strong voice and lots of personality. His way of delivering the message may not be everybody´s cup of tea, but he is good at what he does, no doubt about it.

Personally And Mouth Disappears did not enthralled me that much. I found the work a bit too dense and the instrumental breaks are very short. It would have worked wonders if there was more freedom for the musicians to enhance the sound with some solos and stronger arrangements. Certainly they have the chops and their brief appearances are the album´s highlights. As it is, they act mostly as a musical background for the words. Interesting, but not enough for me.

Conclusion: good CD, but hardly essential. The band has everything needed to become huge. They just have to hone their skills a bit more (especially their instrumental parts). Promising is a fitting word to describe their actual state. I´m looking forward to hear their next works.

Italian band EDERA pick up where they left off on "Settings For The Drama" with some emotional and dark Neo / Symphonic. This is prpbably their strongest release as we get 51 plus minutes of music that feels like one long suite. It is divided into 19 tracks but many blend into one another.

There is a Gothic flavour at times and the vocals sometimes bring that out like on "At The Margins Of You" but usually the vocals sort of quiver and warble and are emotional. Lots of piano on this album and quite a bit of atmosphere too although there are some fairly heavy sections. I do think the vocals are the "make it or break it" issue for most people with EDERA's music. I don't mind them but if it was a vocalist I really liked i'm sure i'd be giving this 4 stars.

This is a good album regardless. 3.5 stars.