DARWIN!

Full of bombast and majesty, Darwin is a solid effort from Banco. This one for me is still building up to their peak, which would be their following album (lo Sono). However, many of the same elements are present, but with a rougher, grittier sound--which of course may be your preference.

I definitely prefer the A side--the one with two extended tracks, L'Evoluzione and La Conquista--although the material is solid throughout. L'Evoluzione reminds me of my favorite track from lo Sono (Canto Nomade), based on the track length, the restrained intro section, and then up-tempo, straightforward rocking, and even a nice, Bach-ian chamber section. Banco excel at all of these styles, with enough unique pieces (Francesco's voice, for example) that they really hold my interest even in the moments where the actual songwriting is not terribly creative.

La Conquista is also solid throughout, though perhaps less cohesive--more a sequence of interesting musical segments than a great song, per se. Regardless, this could be an exemplar for my definition of bombastic, with a particular emphasis on blaring and blasting keys.

An original album with plenty of interesting music, but nothing that particularly blows me away. Four stars for a largely solid and creative piece.