THE GLASS TEAR

The italian progressive scene was always popular in Brazil. I guess it must started because of those San Remo Festivals since the late 60´s that were shown on brazilian TV at the time (where several of those bands appeared). Whatever the reason why, the brazilian prog circles never ceased to talk about - and, most of the time, praise - them. I was always amazed by the sheer number of groups, the high quality and the variety of styles they played. Notturno Concertante had a certain "cult" status amog brazilian prog fans, so I was curious to listen to this group. I had recently the opportunity to get The Glass Tear.

The album is very laid back, melodic and tasteful. Lots of soft keyboards and classical guitars. Maybe too laid back. A little more energy and variations would be great for their tunes. The songs are pretty much straighforward, with not that much tempo or mood changes we are expected to hear from a symphonic prog band. The musicians are excellent of course and clearly they know how to write catchy stuff. Still, you end up longing for a little more than what they deliver. Besides, they made the mistake of having some of the tracks sung in english, while it is obvious that italian is much more suited for their style of music, as the ones sang in that language show. Production is quite good, although the drums timbres are not the best around (the frequent use of a drum machine doesn´t help wither) and the music flows evenly throughout the whole record.

Having said that, I must admit I liked the CD. It´s quite pleasant, with strong influences of classical, folk and italian popular music all over it. Not challeging at all and, for the fame they have, a bit simplistic. I´m looking forward to hear their other works to see if The Glass Tear is their best efford or not (probably not, considering the ratings I saw here on PA).

Rating: 3 stars. Good, but not essential in any way.