WARM SPACED BLUE

I had no intention of picking this up until reading some reviews here. Their debut just didn't do a lot for me mainly because of the vocals and the violin which were both too prominent for my tastes. Well both are scaled back quite a bit on this the sophomore album and the results are stunning. The instrumental work here blows me away, it's why I'm giving this 5 stars and the abundance of mellotron sure doesn't hurt either. Oh, and I love the album title for some reason.

"Call For Cthulhu: Orison" opens with the atmosphere sounding like it's hovering as other experimental sounds come and go. Very cool, like listening to some spacey psychedelia. Drums and violin take over around the 2 minute mark. That's replaced by pulsating keys ala LE ORME, mellotron and more. The violin is back along with bass. Soon it turns powerful as they kick some ass. Nice. It settles with the drums and piano standing out. Synths join in as it builds. So cool! The tension is released as it settles back around 6 minutes but not for long. Check out the drums and organ before 7 minutes. Vocals for the first time after 7 minutes as the mellotron sweeps across the soundscape and the vocals turn passionate. Ripping guitar follows and as usual the rhythm section kills. What an opener!

"Inntal" opens with sounds dropping like rain then this beat with keys take over. Mellotron too. It's building until a calm arrives at 2 1/2 minutes. Determined piano arrives and some drum outburts, so good. The mellotron is back and soon we get a storm of it before 4 minutes as the drums and violin also impress. A calm with mellotron before 6 minutes, some narration here as well. It then kicks in with some incredible depth before 7 minutes, love the bass. Vocals follow then another calm takes over followed by some soaring guitar and busy drum work. Check out the organ before 9 1/2 minutes.

"Call For Cthulhu: Through The Stars" features plenty of atmosphere as the soundscape almost vibrates and pulses from it as different sounds come and go. I'm so impressed that they did an instrumental like this one. "Lada Niva" opens with atmosphere and psychedelia until drum and bass outburts arrive with mellotron before a minute. The tempo picks up and vocals join in with huge bass lines bringing 3RD DEGREE to mind. A spacey calm 4 minutes in but eventually drums, violin and more start to build. Great sound 7 minutes. The tension releases after 8 minutes as the piano takes over to the end.

"Ayida Wedo" opens with intricate sounds that build until it turns powerful very quickly. This is complex too. It does settle back with some jazzy drumming and keys. More sounds join in including mellotron then it settles back again. Some powerful sounds return after 3 1/2 minutes. Love the liquid keys and big bass lines here. The mellotron sweeps in as well before another calm arrives ate but then it turns heavy again to end it. A fantastic instrumental. "Call For Cthulhu: Promise" is folky to begin with as we get strummed guitar and reserved vocals. The organ rolls in and drums and man the guy can play. Mellotron and bass too as the tension builds. Soon it's dark and haunting(love this!) then more organ 4 minutes in in this powerful section. The tempo picks up at 5 1/2 minutes. Brilliant! Violin helps out as well.

This one came out of the blue(haha), c'mon it's Christmas! Anyway this young Italian band has hit one out with their sophomore album and this is possibly my favourite RPI album of 2016, we'll see.