OLTRE L'IGNOTO

1. "Si Dirà di Me" (12:20) sounds more like something from the Saturday Night Fever or Grease soundtracks. Then the bass kicks in and the flute is given the front role of establishing the melody lines which are then taken up by vocalist Giuseppe Scaravilli. The sound engineering is not great--some of the instruments feel/sound as if they're in different universes from the others--and the level of compositional complexity is not very high--high enough, though, to more than qualify as prog rock. Stylistic shift at 4:40 retains key and melodic structure previously established but with a different flavor--but then it very quickly shifts back into the slower, simpler motif previously established. These two motifs alternate, back and forth, over the next two and a half minutes before we are taken down a quiet bridge to a more funky, "Politics of Dancing" part of town. The drumming and bass throughout have been pretty engaging. Nice. At 9:10 we are given another interesting bridge, this time leading us to a section with a more Neo Prog song palette. Nice guitar work in the solo section: emotional. (21.5/25)

2. "Oltre l'Ignoto" (8:03) opens with a "Watcher of the Skies" emulation minus the organ intro. The imitation is, for my mind, too close to the original. When the music settles into a pleasant foundation at the 2:00 mark, the vocals enter, giving it its own distinct RPI flavor. Again, the vocals are mixed very poorly into the music. Besides the replication of the intricate rhythmic opening, nothing very special here. (12/15)

3. "L'Incontro" (2:48) delicately picked guitars with bass lead into delicate singing. Electric guitar, violin, and cello join in. This is very pretty. Perhaps this is more of the direction the band should pursue: the Celeste/Aisles/Maxophone style. (9.5/10)

4. "Cerchio Mobile" (5:14) interesting 1970/80s pop-jazz-techno fusion sound palette woven into this one. It works! I like this ? a lot. Again that FIXX/Re-FLEX/JOHNNY HATES JAZZ palette is one I've always liked. This seals my argument for those mentioned bands being included in Prog World. (9/10)

5. "La Via d'Acqua" (2:52) based around strummed and picked guitars, here is another song with more of a gentle, pastoral, Prog Folk palette--and it's an instrumental. It's nice though it never really shifts into third gear (which is why I've relegated it to the five point system). (4.25/5)

6. "Verso Sud" (2:12) composed as a solo acoustic guitar piece to which bass and multiple harmonized voices are added (and, later, hand percussives). Nice. (4.25/5)

7. "Mare Calmo" (4:50) bag to brooding prog--though still from an acoustic orientation (arpeggiating Steve Hackett- like guitar). Slide guitar solos over the top in the second minute before heavily effected volume-pedaled electric guitar joins in. (8/10)

8. "In Viaggio" (14:24) classic RPI in the MUSEO ROSENBACH vein (lots of Uriah Heep similarities: electric power chords, Hammond organ, aggressive singing). Nice drumming. The middle section sounds more modern (80s BON JOVI). At 5:40 there is a dynamic bridge shifting us into a bass-drum-pounding passage to support some Ian Anderson-like flute play, but this is abruptly ended for a synth piano section reminding me of the work for the Colossus/Musea Dante's Divine Comedy albums (to which Malibran had previously contributed--to the 2003 Kalevala project). Nice "tribute music." (26/30)

Total Time: 48:19

A lot of nice instrumental palettes presented here; not all of them feel fully explored or developed. The vocals are good, though recorded and mixed oddly. I have to say that I like this music overall very much; I just don't feel it's always finished or consistent in its professionalism. The two epics bookending the album are exceptions to this judgment however they seem to be trying to do more to replicate or honor previous styles than present more of the band's own softer, more pastoral predilections. Personally, I'd like to see them explore more of this latter style and less of the "classic" RPI bands.

B/four stars; an excellent addition to any RPI lover's music collection and probably valuable to other prog lovers as well.

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