MOONGARDEN

An interesting effort from this veteran Italian band, extending their musical scope in some rather unexpeted directions this time around.

The main foundations of this album is still neo-progressive rock of the vintage variety though. Rich, multilayered soundscapes where keys, synths and, unless I'm mistaken, mellotron reigns supreme, backed by steady bass, dampened guitar themes and lead vocals - eerilie similar to Seal in sound as far as the latter goes. Most of the songs strech well beyond the 5 minute range as well, and may indeed be described as "A Vulgar Display of Prog" to some extent.

However, blended into this stylistic expression you'll find quite a lot of electronic and industrial elements this time around. Ominous, dark, rhythmic sound layers or swirling electronic textures, dissonant guitar bursts and other musical elements pulled from the effects catalogue of an act like Nine Inch Nails are effectively utilized to expand the musical palette on most tracks here. Not to the extent that any of these efforts venture outside of the contemporary sounding symphonic landscape, but often enough to add variation and some unexpected developments to the proceedings.

And on closing epic Compression we're also served a chaotic, dissonant atmospheric segment followed by a rap-inspired spoken word sequence. The latter which may probably alienate quite a few hardcore prog fans, but which I feel suits this particular effort perfectly.

A strong album, and while those who wants their prog made following the purity laws might not appreciate this album, those intrigued by artists with a desire to add innovative elements to their musical ventures might want to check out this disc. In particular if symphonic progressive rock of the neo-progressive variety normally is regarded as likeable.

waouhhhhh!!!! I have see Moongarden fot the Prog-résiste Convention at Verviers in Spirit of 66 (Belgium). I by this album after a great concert, monday morning, I listen this album for a firstime and before this is my favorite album...It's different of anothers albums of moongarden but It's very very good. This album is not a disc of past but it's an album of future.... the singer Simone Baldini Tosi is very brilliant (Peter Gabriel, Geoff Mann, and my wife say Keziah Jones) a mixing very jarring !!!!!!! Any songs as very Brilliant !!!!!This musicians are single !!!!! If your wife don't like prog, I think this album it's for you, you can listen this in your car, at home with your wife, with your childrens(for 12-18 parentaldvisory), with your dog, cat, ........For me and others friends this album is an incredible success....If you like Genesis, symphonic prog, electronic sound, Metal, Neo, this album it's for you It's very difficult for me to translate my opinion because I'am french and i do't speak very good English... But this album it's a very good surprise, Moongarden it's a great great rockgroup !!!!!!!! by this ........

It should be symphonic, but I find first track more like neo-prog. Just listen to "Boromir" (play on The Lord of the Rings?) and you'll see. I suppose that categories aren't so important. but "Aesthetic Surgery" soon proves in which genre this stands. "Midma". full of long and wonderful solos (this kind of guitar playing, style, fantasy-like). 65 minutes gives a lot of space for long songs. For example interlude like, 3 minutes filler Or "Demetrio..." with again, impressive guitar solo. Track names are weird, it's because of almost concept like themed album. I suppose that (at least some parts are) it's about modern life. Synth sounds in "Enter the Modem Hero" are supporting feeling of computer. And last song, "Compression" first minutes offer easy to do trick. Forget about world and flow away with mellotron supported, light prog sounds. And true prog will come later, don't worry. I have very ubiquitous feeling about this album. Very intriguing one, full of things which merely escapes your reach and stays out of reach. And out of ... heard.

The question is, what is so vulgar about it ? 4(-), for too much synths and electronica.

Beautiful piece of music. Moongarden "A Vulgar Display of Prog" is a new interpretation of modern prog. They've grown out of their previous release and heading toward unknown territory. They play symphonic prog, yes they still do, but with many modern synth and sometime with beatbox and disc scratching. They also sound, in some track, more aggressive above the symphonic prog median. Different but still sounds very proggy and very nice.

Their music sounds challenging and strange. Not out-of-this-worldly strange but simply a little bit too modern for symphonic prog. Hard to explain but I think they do sound close to Jem Godfrey's Frost* in term of modern music element. Put that into Yes or Genesis package and KABOOM...here comes a Vulgar Display of Prog.

This piece of music is beautiful and fun. They are really talented. Production and mixing is excellent. You might need a good sound system to really appreciate the depth of sound. When I put this CD on, I felt like I was drifting into the future.

You should try it. 4.5 stars. Highly recommend!

In my not so humble opinion:

My only experience with Moongarden to date is their 2008 release "Songs from the Lighthouse" and wow, what an experience it is. With it's lush keyboards and generally downbeat tempos, this album sounds more like Neo-Prog rather than symphonic to me. This release would fit well with the layered sounds of Sylvan or Gazpacho.

Christano Roversi's keyboards and Marco Tafelli's guitar provide a beautiful wall of sound behind the soulful vocals of Simone Baldini Tosi. Tosi's voice reminds me of Terrance Trent D'Arbey (pop/soul singer, mid-80's), very different from the progressive voices that I'm used to. It really elevates the band to a higher level.

There are two clunkers on the album, 'It's You' does next nothing for me for the first three and a half minutes or so, until the wall of sound crashes in. Unfortunately, the wall of sound section continues for the next three and a half minutes which is about two minutes too long.

"That Child" is the other clunker and I truly don't understand why Andy Tillison is singing. The vocals throughout the song are highly variable, in pitch, as in sometimes you get sharp, sometimes you get flat. This is rather grating when they sing harmonies. Kind of sounded like cats (not the musical). I don't know if Tosi hadn't joined the band when this song was recorded, but I can't hear his voice through Tillison's, but they would have been better served sticking with Tosi.

On the bright side, there are quite a few highlights to the album.

"Solaris" and "Dreamlord" are both beautiful, drawn out songs in the vein of Gazpacho. It is on these two songs in particular that Tosi's amazing voice is so wonderfully highlighted. In each of the two songs, Tafelli rips a solo out that would make David Gilmour cry. Beautiful songs further solidified by strong keyboard work.

"Flesh" is a simple piano and violin piece so full of emotion it makes me want to give my daughter a violin just so we could play it together some day. I've honestly thought about it.

"South Hampton Railroad" is a poppy little tune with wonderful harmonies and vocals while "Sonya in Search of the Moon" is a quirky instrumental piece featuring Roversi's keyboards. The closer, "The Lighthouse Song" brings the album to a wonderful conclusion revisiting the general tone of "Solaris" and "Dreamlord" with a more upbeat atmosphere.

All in all, this is a great album, it would have been worthy of five stars if not for "That Child". Nonetheless, fans of lush keyboard laden Neo-Prog shouldn't miss this one. Four Stars.

Frequently I find people asking what is meant as prog nowadays and what can be the future of progressive music. Very difficult question and very few know the answer. If you ask me what is the future of progressive music, I can reply you, suggesting to listen to this band. Their Albums are real hidden gems of pure progressive music without falling in any excercise of copy and paste which we can find in so many groups nowadays. Their last Album (published one year after their previous "Songs from the Lighthouse) is full of heavy and majestic moments of guitars and keyboards, mixed with songs very delicate with guitar solos which leave me breathless..(just listen to the solo of Demetrio and Magdalene).

For those of you always looking for new hidden gems, now I have just given you a good advice. Now it is up to you to discover the latest contribution to progressive music, from this fantastic group from Italy!

The only album of Moongarden's that I have heard so I can't compare it to anything else, but I was intruiged by it and quite glad I listened in, in the end.

Interesting that someone else has mentioned they don't like the artwork, I love it, and yes it's overblown, but it's Prog Rock, it's supposed to be overblown.

The album itself is patchy as has been pointed out previously, best bits are the big old prog rock wall of sound balled It's You and the nice calm, Flesh.

The opener My Darkside is good, but stays beyond it's welcome in the end a bit of judicious editing would probably have improved the album no end.

Of the other tracks Solaris, Sonja in Search of the Moon and The Lighthouse Song are the best, the others I found a bit directionless and never really hit any point with me.

This certainly pales when compared to the follow up "Round Midnight", but there is a lot that i like about this double album.This would be the first MOONGARDEN album to feature the wonderful vocals of Luca Palleschi,and that's probably what brings me the most enjoyment.Cristiano Roversi is the main man here though as he plays bass and keyboards ,as well as writing all the lyrics and music to these songs.The music here for the most part is slow to mid paced,so with 100 minutes of it you need some patience. "Forever Chained" is a pretty good opener with the sampled mellotron,flute and of course vocals.Nice guitar 6 minutes in as well.I should mention the excellent bass too. "5 Years" isn't as good with the prominant piano and strings.I do like the guitar though 5 minutes in. "The Gates Of Omega" is the 27 minute epic.Atmospheric to start out before drums and synths come in.Guitar and reserved vocals after 2 1/2 minutes.I really like the vocals which are fragile yet passionate.More atmosphere 10 minutes in with mellotron and synths when the vocals stop.Drums before 17 1/2 minutes that stop before 19 minutes.It starts to build after 21 1/2 minutes with prominant synths as mellotron continues. "Moonsong" is led by percussion,bass and synths. Disc two begins with "Home Sweet Home" and it starts out with a beat and synths.Vocals before 1 1/2 minutes.Mellotron after 3 1/2 minutes when the vocals stop.A fuller sound and the tempo picks up 5 1/2 minutes in.Guitar before 7 minutes followed by synths.It calms right down and vocals return before 9 1/2 minutes.I like the section before 11 1/2 minutes as the guitar and bass become prominant and the vocals become more passionate. "Castles Of Sand" is another song that doesn't do much for me with all the piano and strings early. "Stars And Tears" sounds good 4 minutes in as mellotron,bass and drums lead the way.Guitar comes in a minute later.Vocals are back before 7 minutes as the guitar solo ends.Mellotron before 9 minutes as it settles and vocals stop.Vocals return before 14 1/2 minutes. "Moonsong-The Conclusion" opens with synths before a relaxing beat joins in.Guitar comes in tastefully and plays on and on.Nice. This ambitious double album from these Italian musicians certainly as some high points, but as with most "doubles" there's a lot of music i would call average.

Moongarden has taken another step in a different direction again (but not a giant leap for mankind!), as no two consecutive albums resemble themselves, always veering off into newer or older musical territories. Some fans of course may be turned off by this constant evolution but I always believed that each album should be reviewed on its own merits and not in comparison with past benchmarks or even worse, based on what our expectations are of their music. Now how absurd is that? They are the artists, we like or we no like but "comparing" prog albums is not the appropriate method this reviewer likes to consider. "Round Midnight" was an extraordinarily original opus, fully of icy modern gloom wrapped in a depressive, message laden veneer that had enormous appeal. Then, perhaps the musicians got so despondent that some decided to jump ship outlandishly such as long time guitarist Davide Cremoni and drummer Massimilano Sorrentini , as well as latest vocalist Luca Palleschi. The new troops are Marco Tafelli on guitar, with a remarkable fluid sound, Simone Baldini Tosi on vocals who sang on the debut album and is neither better or worse than the previous mike humper and incredible new percussor Maurizio di Tollo whose pedigree includes gigs with La Maschera di Cera and Distillerie di Malto, all joining leader and keysman Cristiano Roversi and bassist Mirko Tagliasacchi. Upon closer scrutiny, this album certainly has many praiseworthy attributes, some great songs, out of this world playing and huge cascades of mellotron everywhere but also has some strange moments that just don't inspire genius, in my opinion. First the positives: hot epics like the first-rate 13 minute jewel "Solaris" serving up a simply earthshaking mood, full of intense atmospherics, much improved vocal work, quirky arrangements and finally, an extended guitar solo jam-packed with enough magic restraint and manic majesty that it would make Gilmour blush with envy. The medium sized pieces that are worth mentioning you ask? "It's You" hankers back to the prior album "Round Midnight" style, gloomily minimalistic and recurring piano and chiming bells swimming in deep melancholia, when out of the blue, an immense mellotron propelled crescendo turns this into a passion ride where Tosi bellows his heart out and Tafelli rips a brief guitar slash. "That Child" features the clearly identifiable (yet sadly and unjustly criticized) voice of The Tangent's Andy Tillison, in duet with Simone's, adorned by some elegant Roversi grand piano and some inspired ensemble work that veers midway into some furious explosive riffing, heavy bombast galore and mellotron blazing unafraid. "Flesh" is a brief piano etude that calms the mood, with some fabulous violin playing and nice background effects, introducing the other large 11 minute breathless adventure "Dreamlord", a gigantic bass fueled piece that deals with slumber subject matter and has some scintillating and soporific moods. There is some excellent playing all around, with particular mention to the nervy rhythm section that really keeps this flowing, the sinuous bass carving up the space while the drumming slyly hammers away, full of ingenuous tempo. A sonically voracious synthesizer and then an astute guitar solo that both shatter whatever defenses one has left. Perhaps even the crowning moment here. The instrumental "Sonya in Search of the Moon 5" is a showcase for some fabulous synthesizer work as well as another Tafelli guitar sortie. Very nice indeed. What about the afore mentioned weak tracks? Okay, I will oblige. The opener "My Darkside" is enjoyable even though I am not enthralled by the overwrought and raspy vocal delivery, some simplistic organ soloing doesn't help pushing this into the "wow" chamber. "Emotionaut" dives straight in recent Porcupine Tree territory but without the Wilson genius and rather pedantic vocals that verge on the painful. Not my glass of Chianti! "Southampton Railroad" has SKIP written all over it, totally removed from the previous material, sounding like some outtake from the sessions, simplistic and heavily accented vocals certainly helps little in trying to appreciate this track, the pissy percussive work only adds to the wimpiness. One word: Yuck! "The Lighthouse Song" falls back again into the overblown vocal raspy howling that irritates this reviewer to no end, ruining this song with too much fake bravado, not even salvaged by the rather expected sparkling guitar venture. 6 very good rotations and 4 completely off orbit. I understand my revered colleague finnforest being utterly disappointed, in view of his highest accolades for "Round Midnight". This version of Moongarden needs some new skilled astronaut on the microphone and stick to what they do best: stellar instrumental work. Where did I leave my darn lunar module? Oh there it is, out in space again. Really 3.5 but the good tracks are really good, so a very generous 4 Lunar buggies.

Our own finnforest has expressed the exact sentiments (as he usually does with aplomb and flair) about this rather "difficult" album. If you are looking for bright piano exuberances, upbeat guitar runs, sugar-coated synthesizer sweeps and lyrics about fulfillment, happiness, bliss and how life is so beautiful, then ear-candy this is not! More depressive content than your recent Porcupine Tree, the last 2 Galleons , Blackfield or the latest Fish albums is assured. The mood here is symbolic of today's new religion: a very apathetic and bleak modern gloom. Kind of strange only because from 1945 to 1990, we all labored under the nuclear threat of MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction), while in last 18 years we have been living in a surreal "Lalaland" of utter selfishness, social degradation, corruption and deceit. The Internet has made us immune from having a conscience. Funny what can happen when you turn off the lights temporarily in ICBM silos, we seem to become more primitive and less wise. I personally regret that many artists now eschew the desire for masses to reflect and highlight more awareness. I guess democracy has been replaced by hypocrisy (most probably it occurred after the fall of Troy but it was kept quiet, under wraps). With such a preamble, I think I have managed to properly prepare you for this recording, ready to absorb a little reality check. Why not! Whereas Moongarden's previous output was clearly influenced by Camel, this album takes a different contemporary direction, both in sound and in content, which had started with the previous The Gates of Omega. Nothing has changed as far as musicians are concerned, pretty much the same famiglia ; we are perhaps in a more current Gabriel mode, with heavy focus on Luca Palleschi's vocals. I also felt somewhat uncomfortable with his album as I quickly dismissed it and half-heartedly promised to get back to it later. Which is now. The cover is harsh bright light white, plastic neon sterility and innuendo-laced mini artwork boxes (the stringed puppet and "everything is fading away" mentioned by Jim). The title track "Round Midnight" initiates the angst with a bare delivery, FXed with sheens of urban gloom, a traveling electro-bass groove, a tappety-tap drum beat, some marimba-patch keyboards all combining to provide the platform for Luca to wail and howl. The contrasts between the cold atmospherics and the despairing voice are instantly appealing, a very beguiling modern take one, with a slithering solo by Davide Cremoni (a fine Hackett/Latimer hybrid) to set this piece well into the early dawn. "Wounded" starts off like a typical Porky Tree tune, acoustic guitar with heavily shrouded almost whispered vocals, oddball noises in the background, a gorgeous mellotron mid-section, evolving into a steamroller guitar theme, great drumming and another sibilant guitar foray that sustains the pain. "Killing The Angel" sounds even more contemporary (the wrenchingly pained "sound of our times " vocals), with a wobbling bass looping around the beat, weaving through odd sampled sounds and effects, the level of rage slowly rising in intensity, monolithic walls of keys rumbling overhead. "Lucifero" initiates with a somewhat contradictory heavenly mellotron choir, then electric piano and vocals take over the stage, both conspiring to be very fashionably minimalist. Certainly this is quite different take from the usual prog fare ("Jesus Christ crucified in space"), with suddenly lush drum driven symphonic blares combining with another bleeding Cremoni fill. "Slowmotion Streets" proposes some deliberate oboe /cello (always a scintillating combo) introductories , very measured and unhurried with a definite Gabrielesque vocal line as if off the recent "Up" ("the radio keeps talking while everything is grinding to a halt"), a rather morose description of urban realities where frenzy commutes with apathy, quantity fighting and defeating quality, numbers everywhere and everybody. Austere material that prepares well for the 10 minute+ hard driving opus "Learning to Live Under the Ground", as apt a descriptive for the decaying metropolitan ferrying of stunned masses, a subhuman subway that may have many stations but ultimately leads "nowhere". Depressing? ("Can't you see that nobody communicates anymore"), you are darn right. The musical context fulfills the mandate with appropriate doses of dissonance and repetition, with an extended guitar intervention that holds no restraint, until the piano elegantly takes over. Totally unconventional and hence convincing, mirroring the hermetic municipal ghetto we should be calling our lonely cities. "Coda: The Psychedelic Subway Ride" a less than 2 minute piece conveys exactly this bleak man-made landscape. Dull and hypnotic, sad and hopeless. "Nightmade Concrete" continues the tangible cement that holds this album together, eschewing prettiness and replacing it with drab reality, hard playgrounds were children do not laugh, too busy learning the joys of greedy survival, all searching for some concrete escape from the grim routine. A butterfly synth solo puts the dreariness to rest. The best way to describe the final piece is with the title "Oh By the way, we are so many in this city and so damn alone". How true. While perhaps not a masterpiece of the new Italian School of Prog, we are obviously in the presence of a different class of musician/artists who are unafraid to paint an ugly picture. 4 street beggars