THERE'S SOMETHING VERY STRANGE IN HER LITTLE ROOM

I wasn't sure what to expect from this new album, "There's Something Very Strange in Her Little Room", by Submarine Silence. They are usually labeled as rock progressivo italiano, but that sub-genre is usually quite diverse in style. When I received my review copy, I was immediately unimpressed with the cover art, as it seems very gaudy to me. I admit, though, that I go for the "less is more" approach.

Submarine Silence is a side project from the more well-known group, Moongarden. This group is usually quite revered, but I really don't see the need for this side project. Submarine Silence embraces a very keyboard-driven style without much variety. I recently saw them compared to Genesis and Marillion, but they literally sound nothing like them in any way. The style is completely different.

Every song on this album consists of the same basic beats, atmospheric keys, and quirk. That would normally be fine, but I find that the compositions are severely lacking here. The style is just fine, but there is little or no inspiration that can be found. All we get are tracks that drone on and on without any direction or focus. Even with the plethora of different instruments they utilize, the music still sounds dull.

Another issue I have is the vocalist, Mirko Ravenoldi. His voice is way below average, and even cringe-worthy many, many times. I can't help but feel like his soulless delivery is part of why this album stinks for me. Don't get me wrong: This album has some interesting moments, such as the short instrumental interludes. These interludes, such as "Sleepfall" and "Evening Comes", are usually heavy on the RPI influences, and feature grand, airy synth that just feels right. Indeed, there are even some great moments within the major tracks with some decent solos, but whenever Mirko starts singing, the album plummets in quality.

Overall, this album just goes on and on and on for what seems like two hours. I had to check the play time, and was surprised at how short it actually is! The dull, uninspired tracks that make up the majority of this album really make time crawl. If you start looking at your timepiece while listening to an album such as this one, maybe you shouldn't listen to it at all.