DUE

It's hard to believe it's been almost 4 years since I reviewed their debut. Anyway the follow-up for this Italian band is similar in style to the debut but no guest female vocals this time. H2O are a trio of keyboards / vocals, guitars and bass with a guest drummer. I agree with Andrea Cortese that there is nothing on this album that hints at it being Italian.The vocals are in English and the music is sort of slow to mid-paced without a lot of dynamics. Lots of tempo shifts as these longs tracks play out.

"Prometeus Breath" is mellow to start with reserved vocals. It does kick into gear with synths as the tempo continues to change back and forth and vocals come and go. "L'Altra Aurora" is pastoral early with piano coming in at 1 1/2 minutes. Reserved vocals 2 minutes. It does pick up 6 minutes in.

"The Darkness For The Light" opens with piano as reserved vocals join in. It kicks in after 2 1/2 minutes to a full sound. Guitar leads 4 minutes in and there's lots of synths too .A calm 6 minutes. "Stop" opens with piano and synths. Drums follow and vocals arrive before a minute.The guitar and synths lead 6 minutes in then it settles with soft vocals. "Due" opens with sparse piano as almost spoken vocals join in. A classical flavour arrives before 5 minutes. A calm 8 1/2 minutes in and reserved vocals and piano follow. Guitar before 11 minutes. It ends in a mellow way with piano.

A tough listen for me really. There's not much at all that I can harvest from this record that I actually enjoy.