CONFINE

Holy s**t!

If there is one impressive opening number, I bet you that Alba Di Spagna is one of them. Although it starts as a peaceful and medieval madrigal, it develops into such a BRILLIANT symphonic and bombastic part!

Such a power leaves me breathless: this track is equal to the great and fine moments from most of the great bands we all love. The closest one that comes to my mind in terms of grandeur here is ELP, no doubt.

Some moving vocals at last during the upbeat Porto d'Inghilterra are such a nice contribution to a thrilling song. The majesty of the genre is so genuine, so induced. The contrast of these highly melodic vocals is huge when compared to the powerful keyboards sections. It is another highlight of this album. The symphonic and wild combination is so exceptional. Did I say Genesis?

The most astonishing with this band is that you can listen to the most pastoral effects for a couple of minutes, and all of sudden be confronted to a huge and wild part. Such a contradiction exists during the fabulous Un Altro Momento. Indeed, another great moment.

This album is of course very much early Genesis oriented. Fluting, soft passages are here to remind us the good old days. And I have to say that this exercise is not at all disturbing. It is of course not the most highly creative Italian prog album but the whole is finely crafted and should please the fans of this lovely genre (to which I fully belong if you would have any doubt).

I have some other feeling when such a pop-rock song as Ultimo a Stare in Porta: a straight press next song during the first part and then, all of the sudden, it features a great sax section which is only an introduction to a fantastic and chaotic instrumental beauty. Such a dual song indeed!

Sinthonia is also playing with my nerves during the almost heavy Confine. A wonderful closing number which highlights significantly the wonderful character of their music. At times easily accessible, at times complex and harder.

I am quite charmed with this album which is IMHHO their best so far. Four stars. This band should need a bit more exposure on PA. Wake up guys, there are a lot more than PFM, Le Orme and Banco available!

Sithonia's finest hour - "Confine" is an absolute success of symphonic prog for the 90s, and it is really a pity that this sextet isn't usually as praised as other fellow ones (who also deserve it). "Confine" is the third studio effort by Sihonia, and as revealed in the live album entitled "Folla de Pssagio", a couple of tracks already existed in full form before the album per se. The album kicks off in the most magnificent way one can imagine: years and years of carefully listening to progressive albums might as well leave you still unprepared for the outburst of musical magic comprised in 'Albi di Spagna'. This lovely piece is not precisely an epic, starting on a Renaissance note with a basis of classical guitar and vocal, then the input of multiple keyboards gradually joining in until the arrival and development of a majestic architecture that brings back the good old days of BMS and PFM. This opener leaves you speechless, perhaps wanting to listen to it 2 or 3 more times before going on with what remains of the album. Once you can get past this lovely shock, 'Sinergie Interattive' shifts to lighter moods - it starts with an emulation of a cartoonish jingle (including weird voices and phone rings), and then the main body alternates psychedelic beat on a 5/4 tempo, Cabaret jazz and some subtle Gentle Giant-ish ingredients. This is symphonic prog for a Fellini movie. By now, the listener's attention is fully guaranteed, so 'Piccole Vele' can lead us to the farther realms of the heart with its patently romantic ambiences elegantly wrapped in a melancholic aura. Despite its short duration, this song manages to incorporate some brief dense ornaments in order to remain reasonably varied within its well defined framework. The instrumental 'Pentolle Sullo Scalfalle' keeps things in this introspective tone: the jazzy vibe provided by the guitar phrases get along well with the utterly symphonic keyboards, never getting to the saturation point. Not only does this album comprise the band's best opening track ever; it also contains their best instrumental. 'Porto d'Inghilterra' is the longest piece in the album - it starts with storm noises, and then the instrumentation warms up in a Gentle Giant-meets-BMS sort of way, and from now on, the varied melodic journey turns out to be an outstanding display of creativity and harmonization. The way in which the serene moments and the dense passages combine and almost fuse together is a trademark of Sithonia at their best, and oh, how well it works here especially. The instrumental '... Un Altro Momento' brings a moment of relaxing solace after the preceding track's colorfulness: the eerie prelude on a duet of classical guitar and piano is followed by a softly joyful rock, somewhat influenced by Genesis and Le Orme. 'Piancandolli' and 'La Cella' perpetuate the romantic aura and delicate sophistication that we had already found in'Piccole Vele', while still providing a healthy dose of the warm, energy displayed in 'Porto d'Inghilterra'. But again, things will get a bit warmer with 'Ultimo a Stare in Porta', whose main riff is quite catchy. The utilization of peculiar vocal arrangements, a happy-go-lucky sax solo and a dissonant organ solo widely reveal the band's intention to toy with their extravagant side, which is particularly celebrated in the climatic impromptu. 'Il Segnale' is a brief voice-piano ballad segued into the instrumental extravaganza entitled 'Alla Corte del Gran Khan' - the latter doesn' even reach the 2 minute mark, but it sure encapsulates a great mixture of Genle Giant, Happy the Man and Banco. Listening to both tracks as a unit is the best experience for the listener. It is the namesake track which is in charge of closing down the album. It starts with an accordion delivery of one motif from 'Sinergie Interattive', and then, things move fluidly according to the band's most bizarre aspect. It would be fair to label the interaction of the musicians as aggressive, but it is not so in a rock fashion, but more like a big circus in which things are almost getting out of control. Halfway through, the track turns into a more typically progressive pomposity, ultimately leading to a brief coda led by eh acoustic guitar. Regardless of the tracks that each individual listener may point out as their favorite ones, this album as a whole is a highlight, a major achievement in the realm of Italian 90s prog. Oh man, Sithonia ruled!, and how!

Mellow Records seemed to believe in Sithonia and the band ,after two studio albums, releases the live album ''Folla di passaggio'' in 1994,most part of which was recorded in Genoa.Time was a friend for the band,as the sextet established in ''Spettacolo annullato'' had now spent a couple of years together and became more tight.During the first half of 95' Sithonia recorded and presented the new third studio album ''Confine''.

One of the most mature Sithonia works,''Confine'' offers a great experience of modern Italian Symphonic Rock with obvious glances in the glorious prog past of 70's Italy.Even the vocal work seems now more varied with a bit of a theatrical twist here and there.Musically the band remains at a high level with magnificent keyboard work and melodic guitars leading the way.But the style is more complex with great guitar breaks and more intricate arrangements,always mixed with romantic warm symphonic passages.The synths are always on the front,but some organs and mellotrons throughout are still pretty good and well- used.Alternating between more challenging and adventurous parts and mellow moments,the album keeps a great balance from the start to the very end.My only complaint propably is the presence of some short tunes,sounding as filling the album to my ears...but these are just a few minutes of the whole.

There are some bands around,where you know what you will get of them.Sithonia start to belong to this category.Another great delivery of fabulous Symphonic Rock with good Italian vocal performance,highly recommended to any progressive rock fan.

There seems to be unanimity, albeit with a small sample size, amongst reviewers that the first track on this 1995 release is some sort of a mini epic, truly the best thing since Banco/PFM that isn't certified by those early RPI pioneers, and that one can only be sated by listening to it several times before giving the rank and file pieces a chance. Well, I think I have listened dozens of times and I just don't get the love for "Albi Di Spagna". Yes it's a pretty almost folky start and a bombastic but ultimately predictable middle section and some pleasant piano in the outro but it doesn't seem very distinctive or well developed to me, just a few good but not great if disjointed ideas that don't really bring out the best in each other. Well, let's move on from that, shall we? OK, the rest, for the most part, isn't quite that good.

The fanfare returns here and there but "Confine" doesn't seem to know whether to romance us or rock the boat, so does neither very well, which "Piccole Vele" and "un Altro Momento" respectively illustrate. Most just passes by inoffensively, though the spoken parts of "sinergie.." are very irritating. At some point even a tease has to "put out", and this album only has two tracks that really move me, and dramatically so, in very specific passages. The first is "Pentole Sullo Scaffale", with its emotional guitar/keyboard flourishes that ultimately serenade it offstage, and the second is the closing and title cut, with similar pyrotechnics that give way to a reprise of the opening theme. "Porto D'Inghilterra" offers probably the most appealing vocal themes but I don't see them keeping me company too often.

I suppose if you are seeking RPI options that are still young enough to be respectably dwelling in their parents' basements, you could do settle for SITHONIA who did manage to buck the solo release trend, but better options must exist even within those confines. 2.5 stars rounded down