LA CRUDELTÀ DI APRILE

With a band name and album title borrowed from T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and a foreboding album cover, you might expect some sort of Morte Macabre-style horror-prog to be partaken of here. Unreal City don't quite take that direction, but there is something spookily theatrical about their work here.

Emanuele Tarasconi is in my book the star performer here, combining vocals reminiscent of the operatic singers of 1970s Italian prog greats on the one hand and synthesiser sensibilities ranging from classic prog to neo-prog and beyond on the other to create a sound reminiscent of a wide range of prog heritage but beholden to none, though Francesca Zanetta also deserves props for her excellent guitar work, which runs the full range from hard rock to classical acoustic via ethereal gothic. Put these two together with a decent rhythm section and high-quality compositions and watch the sparks fly!