EPSILON

FEM are a young Italian band that are currently working on their first album and in the meantime have released this introductory four-track EP to generate interest in the full- length work. Well, if this votive offering is anything to go by the full album promises to be spectacular. 'Epsilon' is a short but rarefied journey and while the running time is brief the ground covered is incredible.

The band's twin aspirations are to revive the progressive rock of the seventies and to produce introspective music - the glorification and the sufferings of loneliness provide the broad context for this collection. The opening song 'Nella Stanza Vuota' grows out of the sadness and resignation of the singer; the delicately wrought expression of his impassioned vocals in dialogue with electric grand piano have a ghostly effect that accentuates the sense of isolation within the lonely room of the title.

Leaving the singer alone in his empty room of solitude, the other members of the band zigzag through the cultured instrumental 'Fuori Dal Mondo' and this track in its turn prepares the way for the EP's two principal pieces. 'Nel Mezzo Del Cielo', the lyrics of which were inspired by a saying of Leonardo da Vinci's that ponders the subject of human flight, and 'Noi, Granelli Di Sabbia' together span 18 minutes and thus form the heft of this work. These tracks are knee-deep in wonderful instrumental combinations and they give a clear sense of the band's full potential. And by flashing a light onto the past FEM produce a sound that in all respects is oriented to the seventies with its thick coating of analogue keyboards and 12-string and wah wah guitars.

On the evidence of the handful of tracks here FEM have managed to preserve the spirit of the old bands. They also sound as if they could hold their own against any contemporary Italian band. Correspondingly, their forthcoming full-length album may see them disputing possession of the title of RPI album of the year but at the very least it should be awaited with eager anticipation by fans of symphonic prog. 'Epsilon' is currently available as a download from Amazon for a few measly quid and in CD format from the band's official website and BTF Records.