THE GENERATION

"Erostrato" is the marvelous debut EP by TheGeneration, a vibrant new RPI band from Gubbio. The band formed in 2008 and cut their teeth on 70s British hard rock before shifting their gaze to the higher aspirations of the classic Italian prog subgenre. Their influences include Area, PFM, and Battiato but do not expect one of those purely retro exercises from this bunch. Instead thegeneration have a firm grasp on the modern rock scene and the result to my ears was fresh and exciting. The band features Luigi Riccardini (guitar), Giovani Fioroni (vocal/guitar/flute), Giacomo Castellani (bass), Lorenzo Rossi (drums), Andrea Fioroni (keys), and Lucrezia Sannipoli (violin).

I hear a bit of that Area influence in the saucy repeating motif of "Magreb" but TheGeneration are not heading down avant-garde roads here. Instead the tracks pull back to the melodic and easily accessible but in a very good way. Like recent RPI favorites Gran Turismo Veloce they rock out with fluid guitar leads and tight, upbeat rhythms. Giovani Fioroni has a pleasant voice and on "Virtual City" they use a cool female backing vocal that adds a lot, along with Fioroni's generous flute. A jangly clean electric guitar and booming bass have this track really jumping when their next secret weapon comes in, the wonderful violin of Lucrezia Sannipoli. Those of you who know how much I love Quella Vecchia Locanda know I'm a complete sucker for violin in RPI, and Sannipoli's presence here grabbed my ear right away. Then we get a really modern synth drop against that monster bass. The contrast of the classic sound with the modern edge is gelling well.

"Il Secchio di Legno" slows down the pace but ups the groove with a slightly bluesy/funky edge alternating with a sentimental vocal/violin section. This number is pretty eclectic in feel with some different vocal deliveries. Love the piano and keyboard work by Andrea Fioroni towards the end, and again Rossi and Castellani, who are way up in the mix (which I love) knock me out. On "La Penitencia" they all come together on perhaps the hardest, most urgent track....it's a jam, with another beautiful piano closing. Spoke too soon as "Eirene" is another very heavy groove with some intense electric lead lines over a soft, soothing background synth texture. The disc ends with a bonus track called "Icarus." A romantic piece with gorgeous piano and strings over a warm vocal, this track has a ballad feel closest to Coral Caves, and sometimes I think I hear a bit of Coldplay or even Roxy Music at work here. Love the harmonizing of strings and guitar toward the end.

I really have to encourage fans of melodic, modern RPI to give this one a chance--you won't be disappointed. The playing is very tight and rocking, the songwriting instincts show a penchant for being catchy without getting precious, it's entertaining as hell frankly. I liked this band enough to give them some friendly unsolicited advice: please keep the Italian language going forward, resist the pressure to switch to English. Several Italian bands are going this route these days and it's a big mistake. It kills the mood and the enjoyment for we hardcore fans. I really hope we get a full length from this band which allows them to go all out in there creative pursuit, they have the talent without question.

Attention RPI-friendly record labels.....who's gonna win the race to release this band's next one?