PAESAGGIO SOLARE (ESTATE 1972)

A group formed at the fall of 2007 by a trio of Italians in London.Silvio Cavallo (voice, guitar, drums) has been a long-time Italian Prog collector, while his brother Giampaolo (bass) and Luca Harb (guitar, keyboards) have been playing together since 1999 in a band called Unyou, more in a Radiohead vein.In 2005 they moved to London and formed Zen State along with Jon Anderson's son Damion.Zen State didn't last long and the next logical step was Il Ruscello.Inspired by the classic Italian bands of the 70's, they entered the Room 16 Studios in London, following also Silvio's arrival in the town, and eventually ''Paesaggio solare (estate 1972)'' was recorded and released in 2009 on BTF.

The main inspirations of Il Ruscello seem to be IL BALLETO DI BRONZO and LE ORME with ALPHATAURUS nods to a lesser extent, in a work that can be both complex and romantic at the same time.Mainly keyboard-driven sound with old-fashioned guitars in a retro aesthetic, full of nostalgic vibes and interesting instrumental and vocal deliveries.The lyrics are pretty poetic with Gianni Leone vibes in the more theatrical performances and an Aldo Tagliapietra color in the more sensitive ones.Instrumentally the delivery is top notch, based on vintage keyboard moves, with Moog synthesizers all over the place and lovely organ, piano, Mellotron and harsichord notes, creating adventurous and deeply symphonic musicianship with dual and triple attacks.There are plenty of breaks that lead to acoustic forms (just when ALPHATAURUS come to mind) and the guitar parts are also great and recorded with a very vintauge aura.At moments Il Ruscello remind me of LA TORRE DELL'ALCHIMISTA, especially on this balanced waves of romantic vocal lines with complicated keyboard fanfares.And, of course, there are some beautiful and grandiose orchestral preludes and interludes added, strengthening even more the classic-styled Italian type of Progressive Rock.

The trio didn't move on with a second album and hopefully someday this will come true, because they play some great and intense Symphonic Rock in this album.Strongly recommended to all Italian Prog and Sympho-Rock maniacs...3.5 stars.