PUNCH

Charming Hostess third album is a great example of the "melodic" side of RIO showing in the 13 songs of this release very jazzy and proggy rhythmic sections but never losing the avant garde sense of music.

Beside the powerful rhythmical work full of jazzy, prog and tribal sections, Charming Hostess has a powerful talented duo of female singers which gives to the music a particular taste, even when the band plays songs like "Long Black Veil", an awsome track which works like a perfect country-rock-avant garde ballad...

The strong and complex work on guitars, bass, basoon and cello is the element which complete the characteristics that turns the music of Charming Hostess into an interesting and necessary album to any RIO fan.

Some highlights: "Aysh Ye Kdish", a jew/Eastern Euorpe folk song with a strong rhythmical base; "Torso", a powerful song full of surprising twists which reminds some Miriodor late works; "Street Of Tubing", the harder song of the album but also dark and thrilling; "Rise" maybe the songs that's closer to the "traditional" RIO from the 80's; "Lady Gay" the proggiest song of the album even when some twists that reminds early Gong works and suprising almost epical sections...

An underrated album that any prog music fan should have to listen, specially RIO lovers... 3.5+...