ATOM

"Atom" by Román Gil is a spectacular album released in 2023 that I personally completely and unfairly overlooked. This Catalan musician takes us on a surprising inner journey that remains firmly rooted in his own time and culture despite the multiple classical references to sinfoprog with instrumental moments of epic and captivating orchestral elegance (listen to Vida), others more pastoral or even allusions to the nova canço catalana.

Some of the best-known avenues of seventies rock that we like so much (whether Anglo-Saxon - King Crimson- Hispanic - Ibis- or South American - Crucis, Congreso-), are here reviewed from the particular prism of this author who surrounds himself with an overwhelming instrumental group of string quartet (Brossa Quartet de Corda), voices, flute, trumpet, piano, drums, accordion, bass... Special mention deserves the use of the texts, perfectly intertwined and sonorous, both in message and phonetics, which function almost like another instrument, very much in the Spinetta style.

Melancholic and transcendent, plumbing the depths of the soul, while remaining free, open and exploratory, and at all times removed from any tendency towards affectation, Román's "Atom" contains countless revelations for anyone who has not yet encountered the output of this visionary artist, who emerges once again in 2024 on this lavish reissue as one of the most strikingly unique bodies of progressive music we're likely to hear this year.

This is great!

First of all, I'd like to thank Javier Miranda for his music, but also for his great recommendations, because the name of Roman Gil was completely unknown to me until Miranda mentioned it via private message. So yeah, the word of mouth (virtually, I assume haha) is still a great way of sharing music.

So Román Gil is a quite talented Spanish composer, musician, producer, who in 2023 released this wonderful solo album with the title of 'Atom', in which he wrote everything and performed several instruments, but in which he gathered some other great singers and musicians as guests in order to deliver a work full of quality. Well, 'Atom' consists of 9 tracks and a total time of 40 minutes where we receive a delightful and ambitious mixture of different musical realms, so be ready for the trip.

It opens with an amazing 3-part suite entitled 'ATOM', divided in 'Atom', 'Hijo de la Luz' and 'Vida'. The self-titled movement is the instrumental introduction, first with a delicate guitar sound, then the music becomes intense, dark and quite cinematic, it would perfectly work as a silent movie soundtrack, Then, when mellotron appears the direction changes, the sound is still cinematic, but now more pastoral and symphonic, here the second part of the suite brings vocals for the first time in the album. The sound is charming, delicate, it is like a hug. What I like about this is that in just a few minutes, Gil and co. made me think of quite different musical influences, because it sounds a bit like RPI, also like Argentinian rock, also it shows some Swedish winks, I don't know, but I am sure there is an evident musical and cultural diversity, Violin is beautiful, but I especially love those constant and ever changing bass lines. And it is precisely the bass who opens the gates for the third part of this suite, whose orchestrations are quite beautiful, as well as the piano work. The rhythm brings joy and tranquility, brings life (Vida) so it is contagious and, once again, it is like a hug to our hearts and souls. Only with this epic we can notice Román Gil's amazing compositional skills, which makes me think again of all those low-profile musicians / artists around the globe that have an exceptional talent that is yet to be discovered.

I am sure there are several personal tracks here, I mean, the title of 'Mi padre' (my father) might be a hint of it. Keyboards and orchestral sounds appear here in a prominent way, but also we can listen to several voices, both male and female, reminding me of maybe a play, I particularly thought about Jesuschrist Superstar haha, but well, I also love how the intensity increases while the seconds pass, adding a richness of nuances, layers and textures that at the same time are capable of modifying the emotions. Some funeral drums, some floydian guitars, etc.

The short 'La Capsa' is a folkish gypsy track which brings Catalan for the first time. It has accordion, flute and a sound full of cadence. It leads to 'El Negoci' whose sound is quite different, catchy, with some 80s essence and even with a slight invitation to dance. The language is still Catalan here, and though I don't necessarily understand everything, I am always thankful with bands and artists that use their native languages. There is also a funky element here, so this is a song I enjoy a lot.

The album is full of changes, an example comes next with 'La Por', which is a much softer and delicate track where vocals and piano guide us at first, of course, some elements are being added while the seconds pass, such as drums or keyboards, or even vocal choir, reminding me a bit of The Moody Blues or even Rick Wakeman's works. Another contrast comes with 'Amic Meu' whose rhythm is faster and the invitation to dance returns. A gypsy essence, a vintage folkloric tune, a boost of serotonin.

To end this record Gil and co. give us 'Cançó de Comiat' which I believe sums up what the album has been bringing so far: a trip through a diversity of sounds, emotions and musical cultures. It has two introductory minutes, then it changes and becomes bit darker, the orchestral arrangements, synths and guitar offer a diversity of nuances. And so on, we have to let the music taking us whenever it wants, because at the same time, we create our own worlds where we take the music.

Congrats to Román Gil on this excellent album!