LE NOTTI DIFFICILI

Fabio Zuffanti is like the Steven Wilson of Italy. He has so many side projects it's hard to keep track of them all. My favourite band of his is LA MASCHERA DI CERA. With LAZONA he delves into new territory, the genre of Post-Rock.

The first two songs "Solitudini" and "Il Babau" seem like one song when you listen to them as they blend into each other and nothing seems to change until half way through the second song. I must confess these two songs are a tough listen.They start so slowly with no real melody at all, just various sounds coming and going. There is some trumpet before 5 minutes but man if you thought NO-MAN was slow going check this out. 5 minutes into the second song we finally get an actual melody. With drums, guitar and synths reminding me of PORCUPINE TREE. Trumpet comes back before this song ends.

The highlight of this record and the reason you need to hear this album is the next song "Il Sogno Della Scala". The first 5 minutes start slowly with electronic noises etc. until we start to get some absolutely scorching guitar melodies and pounding drums. Mellotron comes in and the soundscape is amazing. The guitar is on fire after 8 minutes as the waves of mellotron flow so beautifully through the violence of the guitars. Trumpet comes in before it's over. The final song like the first two is rather forgetable. With the distracting sound of people talking in the background as the trumpet and other sounds are heard.

I don't think I have heard another Post-Rock band use mellotron like LAZONA does.They also use the electronic theremin, e-bow and mini-moog. If only the other songs were like "Il Sogno Della Scala" then we might have a masterpiece on our hands. Still worth a listen though.