VIOLATO INTATTO

I was a one-time listener of Accordo dei Contrari. Literally. I owned one album, Kinesis, which I enjoyed greatly. I sampled others, but none really captured my attention... until now, that is. Violato Intatto seized my attention in a big way. The best way I can describe it is a "guided tour through an ear-candy store". When done poorly (as many less skillful bands do), it results in a mish-mash of unrelated motifs glued together to build a song or an entire album. This album is anything but that. The compositions have thought and purpose. And despite the fact that around each corner lurks many sonically engaging moments, the album presents a consistent feeling and mood throughout. There are wonderful sax and guitar riffs, nicely blended atop repeating foundations that carries each piece forward. The bass and percussion, nicely mic'ed up, present elements of heavy prog. But then there's the guest violin, showing playful, angular Zappa-esque melodies with a nod to RIO. But wait! Female vocals! Beautiful, long drawn-out notes with lovely vibrato and no annoying melisma. And later, there are several passages with an Ozric Tentacles vibe, complete with wobbular synths and Ed Wynn-style noodling on guitar. This album requires multiple listens to fully appreciate it's breadth and depth, and how well everything is coherently presented. I only wish there were more of those lovely vocals and violin!