I PENNELLI DI VERMEER

The short, promising "Ouverture" sets the atmosphere describing people without ideals who feel void and bored, a generation of web and TV children who are lurking around like werewolves. It leads to "Ray Chat" that recalls the Beach Boys (but with some renaissance sprinkles) and describes one of the protagonists of the story: the murderer, a boy obsessed by the internet.

On "Mrs Rose" you can hear the first news of the murder broadcast by the media. The corpse was found at the NoiaNoir Hotel, room number 33, then there's a description of the victim: thirty-three years old, a very peculiar soubrette, a social phenomenon and a femme fatale with a dubious background. Here the music combines reggae and opera, then a short instrumental intermezzo leads to a change and to the lively violin passages and oblique country rock of "Scoop" that portrays a journalist on his way to the crime scene and the instruction of his editor: well, pain is gold if you know how to exploit it!

"Boredom" is a dark, sarcastic ballad that stigmatizes the need of blood to suffocate the infectious sense of boredom of so many people in a society that suffers of the lack of ideals. Media exploit this phenomenon like in the cases of Cogne or Avetrana... The following "Orrido Tour" is a swinging musical scherzo that reminds me of the Quartetto Cetra, an Italian vocal quartet established during the 1940s. Here the ironic lyrics depict the phenomenon of the so called turismo dell'orrore, a peculiar kind of tourism bound to famous crime scenes.

The sound of police cars hooters introduces the following "La Paura" (Fear) that describes in a funny but effective way the feeling of fear and suspect spreading after a cruel, bloody crime amplified by the media. Eventually the investigation becomes a frenzied hunt that could lead to errors under the media pressure. Beware! Collective madness could drive someone to state that you are the monster, even if you are not guilty at all... Next comes the funky "Torquemada" that describes the detective in charge of the investigation, a nervous and unscrupulous inspector in hurry to find a culprit...

"Mostrografia" is a nice ballad where you can hear the media broadcasting the news of the arrest of the murderer and the hysteric reaction of the public. Then an ethereal instrumental intermezzo leads to "Criminal boy", where the music draws on a west coast daydream while the lyrics try to explain the reason of the crime. Some people kills to become famous, others just because they have to eat, some play the role of the executioner and later pray, others kill just because of boredom, without a real reason... You can't never be sure since you can't read a criminal mind!

The bluesy "Show case" describes the trial transformed into a TV show, with witness and protagonists acting like cinema stars, walking on the red carpet. The calm "Animi anonimi" (Anonymous souls) concludes the album with a bitter-sweet reflection about boredom and a merciless daily grind that anaesthetizes our consciousness.

On the whole, an interesting work where the band showcase good musicianship and many fresh ideas but that in my opinion is difficult to appreciate if you don't understand the lyrics and the storyline.

Impossible to be defined, their style is a very theatrical, modern Art Rock, deriving elements almost from any possible musical source and setting up a very rich and dense musicianship, having Art Rock as the initial basis and moving on from this point through time and place.Of course the flavor is always rocking, sometimes with some quite heavy guitar moves, but the overall mood is very theatrical with breaks leading from groovy lines to melodic ans sometimes old-fashioned styles, like 60's Soul Pop, Funk or Cabaret Music, while the album contains plenty of multi-vocal arrangements.The array of keyboards help to this unique music journey of the group, including piano, organ, synthesizers and harsichord, thus starting from the sixties and ending up in recent years.The Italian taste of the vocals are another positive asset of I Pennelli di Vermeer, though hardly the band can be compared to any of the significant acts of the country.Some vintage keyboard-led instrumental plays even have a strong psychedelic vibe from the early-70's, while even fans of more Classic-oriented Prog will find something to like in here.The overall combination does not work extremely well in some tracks, but the general style has its own charm and comes as definitely personal.

If a term Theatrical Prog would be invented, I Pennelli di Vermeer should be listed as one of the candidates.Pleasant, optimistic and multi-influenced music with impressive vocal lines.Recommended.

I would say that it is a pain that most of the songs are shortly formatted (ten songs for about thirty seven minutes of music). What you will discover is a definite Italian prog accent; but there are little (to none) symphonic moments available. I would say that the experience is more rock oriented. At least during the first two opening numbers.

Vocals are mostly theatrical like described in Andrea's review. Some sort of "Ange" Italian counterpart at times. But too shy of these French masters IMHHO.

There are too many pure rock songs featured on this album: "L'urlo?" or " S.K.L.ERO " for instance. the former is even mixing hard rock with pure baroque passages. Nothing really in line with ISP but interesting. Still, I am missing the complexity and fantasy of the great genre we all love and which can be felt during " Nel Giardino Di Belzebù". One of the two songs in excess of four minutes on this album?

Actually, I don't like this album very much. I still wonder why the band needs to sing these stupid French lyrics during the basic rock song "Luce". Pretty much dispensable as far as I am concerned. The weird "Carogna" only adds to the feel: some fine guitar work but weak vocal parts.

I can't go over two stars with my rating here. Too weak overall, no passion (or little) and close to none excitement.

The opener "Tre cadaveri nel cassetto" (Three corpses in the drawer) is a kind of dark and witty nursery rhyme built upon a strange marching beat, while the next "Manifesto cm 70x100" is sarcastic and committed piece featuring a bizarre rhythm of ska condemning a policy made of words without actions that let rubbish cover the streets of Naples (you can watch a video of this track on PA). The mood changes on the following track "Cinque minuti... una notte" , a dreamy and "colourful" ballad...

"There is a reason behind every scream / Pain, joy, rage, a simple emotion...". "L'urlo" (The scream) is a piece inspired by an Edward Munch's famous painting and features Osanna's Lino Vairetti as a special guest: it's an interesting mix of country, hard rock and even opera compressed in less that three minutes... Then comes "Nel giardino di Belzebù", a kind of journey through the dark paths of love that features beautiful female vocals and a delicate melody...

"S.K.L.ERO" is more aggressive and "electro" and deals with drug addiction while "Luce" is a funny piece where different musical influences (ranging from baroque to rock, from folk to "varieté française") are the perfect background for light words that seem to be conceived as "touches of colour". The futuristic "Incuboinuncubo" (Nightmare in a cube) is about "trash TV" while the ironic and irreverent "Carogna" features an almost operatic atmosphere and a good guitar work. The last track "Autogestione" would be a perfect soundtrack for recent protests of the Italian students and features a children choir and a funny swinging march rhythm...

On the whole "La primavera dei sordi" is a very interesting album, funny and fresh. Even if it lasts less than 40 minutes, there are no weak moments and it's really worth to check out

In the second half of the Seventies I bought my first Classic Italian Progrock albums: Banco their eponymous fifth album (aka V) and the Italian version of The World Became The World by PFM, this was the start for my Italian progrock fascination. I was blown away by the mindblowing blend of great vocals, virtuosic work on guitar and keyboards and adventurous, dynamic and varied compositorial skills. In the late Eighties and early Nineties I was very pleased with the Japanese and Italian record labels that released cascades of Classic Italian progrock gems on CD, from albums by Museo Rosenbach and Corte Dei Miracoli to Panna Freda and Semiramis. It turned out that the USA progrock labels Laser's Edge and Syn-Phonic were my gateway to Prog Heaven. In that era I started to write for Dutch progrock paper SI Magazine and soon I discovered that the Italian progrock scene was still alive and proggin' when we received lots of promo CD's from bands like Il Castello Di Atlante, Abiogenesi, Nuova Era and Calliope, again I was In Prog Heaven! Early 2004 I started to write for Prog Archives, one of the first things I did was writing about all those old and new Italian progrock bands and adding Classic Italian Progrock like Rustichelli & Bordini and Cherry Five. Unfortunately the following years it was a bit poor and I started to focus on the very prolific progrock scene in Latin- America (from Nexus to William Gray). But since last year I have hope with new Italian progrock bands like Moongarden, Hostsonaten, Ainur, Il Baccio Della Medusa and .... I Pennelli Di Vermeer, what a stunning debut CD!

I Pennelli Di Vermeer (the name is derived from our famous painter Johannes Vermeer) is rooted in 2002, in 2007 they released the mine-CD Tramedannata and one year later the debut CD entitled La Primavera Dei sordi. During my first listening session I was blown away, what a varied and unique prog this is with an important role for the vocals, from an opera-like female voice to theatrical vocal harmonies or even a small children choir. The variety in the 10 compositions is great: a tango-like rhythm in the first track Tre cadaveri nel cassetto, "Madness meets The Shadows" in the cheerful Manifesto 70 x 100, wonderful interplay between violin and Grand piano in Cinque minuti...una notte, a Hawkwind-like atmosphere with a hypnotizing beat and synthesizer beeps and bleeps in S.K.L.ero, vintage keyboards (Farfisa - and Hammond organ and flute-Mellotron) and a wide range of singers in Luce and a synthesizer sound in the vein of The Stranglers (late Eighties-era) and a spectacular synthesizer solo in Incuboinuncubo. My highlights are the two most 'traditional progrock efforts': an intro with warm vocals and twanging acoustic guitar, then a slow rhythm featuring wonderful work on violin with soaring organ and excellent male and female vocals in Nel giardino di belzebu' and sumptuous church organ and howling guitar in the alternating Carogna.

If you are up to an adventurous progrock journey (this music will not be everybody's cup of tea), check out this genuine progrock effort by a very unique new Italian band, what a thrill that 30 years after the Classic Italian Prog-era, a new Italian band succeeds to present such an unique, daring and adventurous prog, a big hand for I Penneli Di Vemeer!

Thanks to my Dutch PA friend Angelo for his recommendation.

Recorded in 2006, released in 2007 this EP is a landmark in the modern Italian prog scene - at least from where I'm standing. Everything has been done before in prog? I don't think so, and Pennelli di Vermeer agree with me. You can mix rock with classical music, and Rush for example included some reggae influences in their music around 1980, so why not put in a bit of ska, opera and theater influences?

The Pennelli members guide us through their musical world on this EP, starting with the opening track Sulla mia Scriviania. This is a short track, opening with the kind of singing you would expect in a theater/musical performance. The electronic bass that follows would in other cases make me turn of the music, but here it develops into a ska like rhythm that catches you, without becoming as poppy as 80s ska-devils Madness. After this, Onde is a more rocky track, with a more explicit role for the guitar, but also a clavinet like keyboard sound. Again, the vocals are almost musical like, interleaved with great instrumental trips. The end of the track is an operetta like 'lalalala' chorus, demonstrating the vocal range of the bands vocalist(s) Pasquale and Marco Sorrentino. La pipa operaia again opens as a clean rock track, but quickly changes to a bass and keys driven tango, accompanying once again well done theatrical vocals. Surprisingly, the instrumental mid section of this almost four minute track comes close to the level of bombast of ELP. Aldiladelladilà with it's disco/dance like intro, is easily the most eclectic among the five tracks. After the intro it quickly slows down into an acoustic guitar and piano piece on top of which the vocals put a layer of complaint. The first verse is followed by a nice instrumental break that combines hints of old Genesis with bluesy guitar riffs and then gives way again to an symphonic second verse, develops into an Arabic like instrumental tune, followed by a Cossack chorus and then travelling back to the Arab world. After this, we are guided to the halls of la Princesa - where the chamber master opens with a megaphone effect vocal. The tune develops into a keyboard driven, almost fully electronic track, with a grrovy background rhythm driven by bass and drums - and it ends with a nice, short guitar solo.

The video track La pipa operaia included on the CD confirms the tango influences in this song - a couple of tango dancers lead the way, accompanied by the band, an old man singing and a crowd dancing to the bombastic mid section.

All in all, a quite different experience from what I've heard in the past year, and definitely a band with it's own unique, eclectic sound. To be checked out and enjoyed with an open mind.