INTEGRATI... DISINTEGRATI

Ghostlike and meditative, Franco Leprino's sole solo album coalesces washes of synthesizer with acoustic guitar in the classical style, but peppers his composition generously with avant-garde twitches. In places, the music shines like a polished gem. In others, it is downright clumsy. And in any event, there is no connective tissue linking one musical episode to the next, a practice I generally dislike.

"Part 1" The wax and wane of slow washes of synthesizer and rapid acoustic guitar come together, mimicking the tide in its repetitive coming and going and unyielding steadfastness. Eerie keyboard lead shrieks in like the wail of a siren. When the author has tired of this serene affair, he switches to a disjointed piano passage, followed by psychedelic synthesizer. The roars of a crowd and the crying of an infant seem to me as though the artist is trying to hard to be artistic. The last quarter of the piece, with more elegant piano and other lighter sounds, reveals that Leprino was in no need of artsy gimmicks- simply stunning. The harmonic-laced passage sounds like Yes' "Awaken," released that same year, whilst what follows is reminiscent of early Steve Hackett.

"Part 2" Mythic tapestries of mechanical and aquatic sounds begin the second part. The passage goes away without any resolution to bring in a pair of doddering tones that mingle awkwardly and inharmoniously. The third passage is initially quite ethereal, but a quirky lead latches onto the underlying sound like a hungry parasite- there's even a sucking sound (accompanied by the superfluous crowd and screaming newborn). Lovely flute and acoustic guitar eventually follow, and in the final five minutes, a more symphonic turn of events.