LA MECCANICA NATURALE

I was glad to have an opportunity to get a closer taste of this Italian band, which seemed very interesting (judged by a track on V.A. epic Kalevala and the band info) but I'm afraid the album itself doesn't represent Finisterre the way I would prefer them. Sad to note that there are no flutes this time. The music is to me too uneven, meaning that a song which starts sounding good includes ugly, distorted, noisy vocals or it gets stuck somehow or other nasty things. I like the overall sound - many different keyboards, a good deal of Mellotron too, and acoustic guitars - but quite a few tracks work completely for me, or at least the worse moments of the album ruin my enjoyment. I also feel I'm missing an important part by not understanding the Italian lyrics; the album seems to have a thought-provoking concept on nature... well, that's my guess only.

As a Finn my closest association is the (at times semi-progressive) band called CMX, who similarily moves between softness and edginess and whose singer sounds a bit similar as Finisterre's. It's relatively little what I've heard from Italian prog, but I suppose Finisterre continues and updates Italian prog tradition gracefully. I liked the two instrumentals the best. Probably a fairly recommendable album for fans of Italian prog who are not turned off by contrast-seeking 'ugly' details in an otherwise fine and delicate soundscape.