ECCO L'IMPERO DEI DOPPI SENSI

My favorite band from Sicily is back with their fifth studio album since their 2013 debut. Though the official band membership has shrunk (to five), the number of guest contributors remains big.

1. "Il gran finale" (3:52) the music here retains the spry Canterbury feel and sound palette of the band's stupendous debut, Limiti all'eguauglianza della parte con il tutto, but the songs are more streamlined with longer working passages instead of the short and frequent time and thematic shifts; they're polished and mature, more listener- friendly, but not quite as quirky and fun as the former. (8.75/10)

2. "Quintessenza la la la" (6:06) a song that seems to parody music in all of the silliness of its seriousness--both the singing/lyrics and the music. Quite fun and funny! (8.875/10)

3. "Il bello e il cattivo tempo" (3:52) opens like a BEACH BOYS song from the 1960s. It's nicely melodic and flows very smoothly, but he music kind of drags as it is obvious that the lyrics are meant to be the focus. (8.75/10)

4. "Viaggio astrale di una polpetta" (5:17) this jazzier piece sounds very much like a MUFFINS/DAVE NEWHOUSE composition with some shifts into GRYPHON territory due to the recorders et al. until Emanuele Sterbini's vocals enter in the final third. Interesting! (8.75/10)

5. "Fine del mondo" (4:07) one of the more quirky, funny songs on the album--even the instrumental sound choices are often humorous/silly. (8.875/10)

6. "Pentagono" (5:23) a slowly hypnotic Math Rock kind of song evolves into something quite melodic as the vocalists sing and harmonize in the second minute. The upright piano sound used gives the song a bar- or school-room feel to it. A top three song for me. (9/10)

7. "Parole e numeri" (3:05) this slowed down number is unusually plodding but supremely melodic and engaging, simple but beautiful. Another top three song. (9.25/10)

8. "Cinque sensi" (4:00) very cool upbeat and cheerful song again of a simpler form and structure, it's just too charming to not love. Another top three song. (9.25/10)

9. "Fiume dell'Oblio" (4:15) a bit of the avant and Sgt. Pepper-like psychedelic mixed into the straightforward simple pop forms. Still, there is so much lovable quirk and uniquity here as to make my smile creases crack. And Andrea Cusumano is quite the whistler! My fourth top three song. (9/10)

10. "Doppi sensi" (10:04) As if Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello dropped in to help compose and produce a collage of great unconventional chord progressions and melodies while using a number of whimsical, ever-changing time signatures. Then, at 4:50 Robert Wyatt and John Lennon step in to direct, creating a dreamy musical playground in which even children can roam around and play. While I like both halves, the first is definitely more to my liking. (18/20)

Total Time: 50:01

While I like this album a lot--it has really grown on me--I still idolize that debut album more than any of the band's others. Here the music is often simpler, engaging the listener for longer stretches of time, but the band have done an excellent job of reclaiming the quirk and humor so naturally championed by that first album--something that has not always remained constant in their other three albums.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of wonderfully entertaining Canterbury Styled progressive rock music--one that every prog lover should check out for themselves.

10/19/23 Addendum: As songs from this album have continually popped up on my 2023 playlist over the past four months I've been surprised to keep picking up myriad subtleties and nuances that make me comprehend how deceptively masterful these compositions are: there is SO MUCH more here than what meets the ear upon initial listenings. Therefore, I'm bumping this one up to full masterpiece status!

One of the very few Italian Canterbury jazz bands sitting in a small club with Picchio dal Pozzo, The Winstons and Instant Curtain, HOMUNCULUS RES has been more productive than any of its competitors by sticking it out for over a decade now and has successfully released five bonafide studio albums. These Sicilian chaps have taken pride in resurrecting the lesser tread upon universe of English Canterbury Jazz and has successfully integrated the Italian language into an otherwise very non-Italian art form.

ECCO L'IMPERO DEI DOPPI SENSI (Here Is The Empire Of Double Meanings) finds the band in fine form cranking out its knotty progressive rock compositions flavored with Canterbury textures a la influential bands such as Soft Machine, Hatfield & The North as well as fellow Italians Picchio dal Pozzo but also capturing a more liberal sense of compositional freedom with Zappa-esque improv as well as a stronger emphasis on melodies that seem to take inspiration form the classic symphonic Italian prog greats ranging from PFM and Banco to Arti & Mestieri. ECCO features a new batch of ten tracks that excel at crafting an instantly infectious connection laced with all those proggy hairpin turns that screams sophistication!

What's new here? Well i'm detecting some serious Stereolab grooves in many sections of ECCO. The middle track "Fine Del Mondo" feels right out of the Stereolab playbook with a Kraut inspired grooviness all decorated with jazzy regalia. Lots of Beatle-esque harmonies in jazz-pop form also find their way into much of the playing time of this new release. A noticeably warm and fuzzy album, ECCO features not only the five members playing the usual rock instrumentation but also includes a whopping 15 guest musicians and vocalists to give the album a larger than life feel.

Laced with a series of ever-changing ideas teased into instantly likable melodic constructs. HOMUNCULUS RES has developed a keen sense of taking pop-infused melodies and twisting them into a digestible prog format which works quite well indeed. Somehow the band has with apparent ease mastered the technique of accessible Canterbury complexities something that requires a major musical mastery which is perhaps why so few dare to tread the sacred Canterbury Scene stomping grounds. Another amazing accomplishment is how well this band has integrated the Italian language into the Canterbury rhythmic flow which is a successful hybridizing effect that sounds closer to the actually classic Canterbury of the 70s even more so than Picchio dal Pozzo.

This new album is actually very fun as it features a bouncy rock that really connects me to the 70s although it doesn't sound anything like other Canterbury bands. The vocals remind me of Pink Floyd or Alan Parsons Project a lot although in Italian. This is one of those joyful almost celebratory albums that excels in the Canterbury whimsical traditions of previous decades. Sicily is a lucky place for having spawned such a wonderful band that has taken England's least tread upon niche of jazz-rock to its own little world of its making. Also at only 50 minutes of playing time it's not too long as albums can be these days. It's very retro in many regards but also feels fresh and updated for the new millennium. Not a masterpiece but an excellent slice of unorthodox Canterbury jazz prog.

PICCHIO DAL POZZO is my favourite Canterbury/Avant band from Italy with THE WINSTONS and HOMUNCULUS RES also getting plenty of attention from yours truly. Can a band be any happier than these five guys? Bright and catchy with Italian vocals and plenty of harmonies. Some Canterbury organ here but I wish there was more. Fifty minutes and ten songs and how about the cover art, those blue and purple shades.

I'm not sure where I'd rank this in their catalogue. Five studio albums over ten years. The debut is my favourite and the only one of theirs in my Canterbury top 30 list but the second one is right there too. I also really liked the album before this one I'm reviewing today but these guys are consistently good. The thing about the debut is the melancholy. The first track on that one is an example of the style they would focus on in the future, that bright and happy sound but that cd always impresses me, in fact I listened to it last night for comparison sake. Their best in my opinion.

There's something like 15 guests on here helping out so lots of sounds coming and going, nothing new here with this band as they always have had plenty of guests filling out their sound. We get some brief distorted organ on the opener but my top four begins with tracks four and five. That fourth track opens and closes with some innovation I'll say that with their usual sound in between but those cool ideas make this stand out in a positive way to me. The next one "Fine Del Mondo" just has this steady flow of sounds and the guitar solos a couple of times both when the singer steps aside.

The final two tracks on the album make up the last of my top four. "Fiume Dell'oblio" just sounds different early on and in fact is a bit of an odd-ball track ending with someone whistling the melody of this song in the shower. The closer is the longest by far at just over 10 minutes and it opens with a feel good vibe before turning somewhat silly after 2 minutes but at 4 1/2 minutes it settles right down to a spacey mood before building with vocal melodies. Kind of haunting actually. Strings too and experimental. Soundscape music! Yes this band can surprise.

Easily 4 stars and more joy to experience this holiday season.