STRATUS LUNA

What a pleasant surprise. Stratus Luna is a Brazilian band, half of them teenagers (the other half barely in their 20s) who play music so far away from bubblegum pop that too many people that age would do, but here these guys are creating music that doesn't exactly appeal to the girls, in other words, prog rock of the first order. They are Gong- related in that Gabriel Golfetti is the son of recent Gong member Fabio Golfetti (who was the latest addition to the band, he joined in 2017). They apparently formed in 2007, if so, then they were literally children when they started, having appeared on Brazilian children's television programs. 'Despite their age, they're no slouches. They create fairly complex prog but not overly complex. They go in full-on symphonic prog mode, then they switch over to electric piano-dominated jazzy parts. "NREM-1" diverges from the usual prog and jazz fusion template to a full-on electronic piece showing how Gustavo Santhiago could pursue a solo career in electronic music (he did record and release a solo album called 'nimam which leans more toward the mellow end of symphonic prog, rather than electronic). I tend to dislike most modern progressive rock due to sterile production, overly-long albums, and modern elements that seem out of place in prog. The guys from Stratus Luna avoids those pitfalls. They aren't exactly virtuoso musicians (no one will mistake Gabriel Golfetti for Jack DeJohnette or Billy Cobham) but they're a kind of band that plays within their means (that's something I also compliment big time with Norwegian prog band Jordsj'). Also my other grip of too much modern-day prog is the lack of emotion and dynamics, and these guys avoid that pitfall as well. Great music, great performance from all around. This proves first rate prog can be had in the present day and it's really a must have!