ANACRUSA

Anacrusa retain the qualities already presented in their previous albums, the basis of yet another work of the band is a Latin-tinged Folk/Folk Rock and the musicians built around them a slow, gentle and relaxing symphonic approach.It lacks again the edge of an electric content, but the band works as a mini-orchestra with the displayed traditional instruments and the addition of soft drumming, the keyboards and the bass.Chamber Folk would be a good description, the music is centered around the acoustic strings and the omnipersent flute and clarinet, revealing lots of folky tunes, always orchestrated with pastoral, light interplays between the participants.Piano, organ and synths, when added, offer the best moments of the album with extended instrumental parts and good interactions with the flute and clarinet, even delivering an almost jazzy style at specific moments.Vocal tracks are more into traditional Folk Music, more mellow and lyrical, without much of an instrumental excess.But we are talking about pure poetry here and even these piece have plenty of interesting and nostalgic moments to offer.

''III'' is a bit more Folk-oriented compared to ''II'', but still comes as a nice pearl of light Prog Folk.Quite underrated band, featuring great instrumentalists and an extremely gifted female singer.Recommended.

A very delicate and romantic Prog Folk album, Anacrusa's debut explores the roots of South-American Folk with more contemporary echoes, resulting series of short but interesting arrangements and intense, poetic tracks.One foot steps on the combination of archaic-styled Folk tunes with more jazzy stylings, offering a weird Folk/Fusion amalgam with smooth interplays and elegant passages.Guitars, bass and drums are the most dominant instruments in these plays.The other foot passes through more symphonic arrangements, a bit like the folky side of PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI, with excellent flute lines and peaceful piano textures leading the way into somekind of genuine Chamber Folk.These are executed in mostly instrumental offerings, of course always supported by acoustic guitars.There are still a few pieces that sound like Latin poems, led by Lagos' lyrical expressions and strongly grounded in Latin Folk with no further ambitions, yet these are also very nice and work well within the chosen atmosphere by the band.

The album lacks some serious amounts of dynamics, but the music is so good it could easily heal your hearts with every listening.Relaxed Chamber Folk/Fusion with pastoral and well-crafted arrangements.Recommended.

Side A opens with a couple of tracks close to Latin Folk with dominant flutes and acoustic guitars and Susana Lago delivering some of his best vocal harmonies.''Polo coriano'' is a Symphonic Folk instrumental number with nice piano and flutes,leaning to pure Folk towards the end.With ''Palmero'' Anacrusa get back to their Folk side.Flute work byJulio Pardo is again excellent and the classical guitar of Castineira is lovely,not to mention the excellency of Lago's voice again.''Zamba de la Despedida'' is a nice instrumental Symphonic piece with a mellow atmosphere,featuring good organ,piano and flutes and a sign of the band switching to a more adventurous style.

Side B opens with ''Homenaje'',an acoustic crescendo of Castineira with Pardo's flutes supporting and Lago on an orgasmic, almost operatic performance.''Saqué Mi Corazón de la Tierra Quemada'' is a soft, pastoral instrumental mini-Symphony with a dreamy atmosphere,based on piano and flutes,but with strong bass work as well.The longest track of the album ''Calfucura'' (and the closing one as well) shows much more intensity.This is again a piece of Symphonic Folk with good interplays between keys,flutes,guitars and the rhythm section,Classical-influenced parts and a generally captivating sound with strong performance by the mass of the musicians partcipating.

''Anacrusa II'' was a good forward step for the band,which started to flirt with symphonic arrangements and to sound really interesting.The album has a very soft atmosphere though,but it is played with a definite rock attitude.Recommended to both Symphonic and Folk Prog fans.

But what was my surprise when I realized that this entire album continues in this, Mamba/ Samba style? That must be the word. Mostly calm songs where flute and acoustic guitar creates some kind of dreamy land. Here and there there is change and for a while in genre and element that is used, card that is played, but this album keeps mostly consistent. And by the way, it's not Prog at all, more like Folk songs combined with Latin rhythms (maybe this means Sudoamerican (South Am.) Folk.

3(-), but it's good album anyway.

Anacrusa, recently I discovered a series of Argentinian sensational directions, and definitely this album it's one of the grateful surprises. The track of opening brings the mixture of the regional percussion, with an interesting fold of violin and guitar. Saxophones also bewitch the ears to finish an opening corretíssima.

02. El Sacrifice El Sacrifice, the second track, brings the vocal ardent ones and full ones of feeling of Susana Lago, accompanied by much near to the enigmatic guitar, melodic and full of feeling of Daniel Sbarra. Julio Pardo responsible for the flute, enters on the stage with the best melody, and next to present guitar is always the arrangement of José Luis Castiñeira de Dios for the ropes, again the symphonic of triumphant way ' wins the day '. I liked Susana's, somewhat desperate voice.

03. Sol Del Fuego Phillipe Pages begins the track, a creeping, quick piano, and the most curious thing enclosed of the percussões that the one who lives in the south is so used, the traditionalistic music of the South of the brasil drank very much on Argentinian air of the pampas. For the one who never heard anything, it is worthwhile to pay attention in a known name from Rio Grande do Sul, hear and understand Renato Borghetti a little in the site of face, brilliant one!

04. Quien Bien Quiere Vocal more calm, sentimentalistas, looking at the musical horizon opened for new commissions and new sounds, and the band accompanies everything of magisterial form, orchestration and great regionalism mingled with the secular music. When the battery of Jorge Trasante brings near the music gained air of Kashmir (Led Zeppelin) for a short period.

05. Homenaje A Waldo Soon the fifth track of the album takes care of ours hearts, and the piano captained by Phillipe if it annexes to the violin, to the oboe of Bruno Pizzamiglio and the percussion, calm, thoughtful and free of cruelties, at least temporarily. At the moment ' Astor Piazzolla ' of the music Juan Mosalini it commands the harmonica (when what takes the melody still more deep inside our souls was also known as an accordion this way). From the room minute is that the musical seizure progressive air, soon 'permeating' inside the Tango.

06. Los Capiangos The feeling of the previous track is still this way, but with the percussion taking a place of distinction near the piano and flute. One of the principal points of the album, is that the guitar, out of the blue, suddenly, it enters and changes the sound, not interfering in the melody, but yes transforming it in subjective way, inclusive with a small passage of synthesizer decorating the sound.

07. Tema De Anacrusa The epic poet of the album begins hard work, not in the sense 'rock', and yes the weight of the serious one, with the orchestra giving a touch still more mysterious and passionate. The track takes his progress for several times bad-tempered owing to the necessary action. Beginning of the second minute, flutes, orchestrates still more complex, and a delicious ground of oboe, musicality on the surface of the skin and a naturalness completely different from everything who is heard normally in our so loved symphonic discs, sometimes the simple fact of changing of air is enriquecedor and restorative. Entrancing, simple, so calm and comfortable in his central subject. Extremely passionate, enchanting, and a food for soul that needs calm and inner peace, is a call to heart, a subject almost jazz. The vocalization soon after in the ninth minute of music comes together with a cutting melody and saudosista, for times crazy in his essence, however, with the purity of the gods. And the disc would finish in the form fascinating, fully of courage and energy, arrivals of the new subject. The orchestra again gives great strength to the subject, in the final minute the guitar reappears to leave the rails of smoke again at his places. And so it would finish an excellent disc!

08. Los Capiangos (bonus) However, there is a subject bonus, which I do not know for certain from which carving it went out, I know that the carving is of 1975, however I do not know for certain if the track is an occasional carving or a surplus of the previous disc. With serious bass and a certain sadness to track he is a good extra, with flutes and piano holding the rhythm, while the synthesizer works well sewing melodies.

I don’t speak the language but I’m pretty sure these guys are singing Portuguese. The vocalist Susana Lago also plays piano and something that sounds like a pump organ. Her voice is pleasant enough but without much range or depth, and seems a bit weak at times.

Several tracks like “Coplas de Cundinamarca”, “Calfucurá” and “Saqué mi Corazón de la Tierra Quemada” come off as rather pedestrian seventies soft rock, although on the latter two there is some fair piano/flute interplay to offset the average vocals. Two tracks (“Polo Coriano” and “Palmera”) are heavy on piano and flute (there are two flautists in the band). “Polo Coriano” is an instrumental, and had the band put together an entire album in the vein of this one it would have been much stronger than the mixing in of contemporary vocalized songs.

Really the biggest problem with this record is that it is so one-dimensional. Flute and piano arrangements with some tepid female singing (occasionally backed by male chorals); that’s about it. Not the kind of record that is going to get people all excited, and one that obviously has been largely forgotten in the thirty-plus years since it released, probably for good reason. I’m going to say this is a two star effort that the band’s fans undoubtedly appreciated in its time, but which has no real hope of attracting many new progressive music fans today.

peace