L'ENIGMA DELLA VITA

One day not long ago, I came to the PA homepage hungry for something new. Not like I really needed to hear anything new. I had already overshot my budget for CDs. But it was one of those moments which occur often, and I spied a review for "l'enigma della vita" by Logos which sounded like this was an album I should order. A couple of weeks later and shortly before my CD arrived, I saw that Logos had been voted third best album of 2014 by the PA collaborators. Wow!

Logos arrived along with a couple of other albums and so I first gave them a listen with a head already swimming with new sounds. I didn't catch anything other than that the lyrics were in Italian (as expected) and the music sounded pleasant enough. On the second listen through, I latched on to the "On the Run"-styled keyboard or electronica part in "in principio" and set that song aside for a potential mixed playlist (I love making mixed CDs!). After the third listen, I realized I wasn't really getting into the album, probably in part because I was listening to it on my way to work (by foot and by train) and not really paying attention, and also in part because the music wasn't really reaching me, grabbing me, and pulling my attention away from mundane thoughts such as why the truck drivers always throw their convenience store rubbish and porno mags into the ditch where crayfish and frogs live.

So the other day, I had a bit of a drive coming up, long enough to play the album through plus a little extra. Changing the listening environment to live sound rather than fed into the ears often helps me appreciate an album better. A true enough, this time I was able to formulate clear opinions about each track. In fact, I enjoyed what I heard enough that I listened to the entire album once more the next day, this time paying close attention.

Generally speaking, this album is quite evenly paced and neither aggressive nor slack. Electric guitar and synthesizer solos are in the spotlight while the vocals show up usually for a few lines or a couple of verses in between instrumentals and instrumental passages. There's a feeling of Pink Floyd at times, of Eloy or even Novalis at other times. Fabio Gaspari's vocals sound smooth and pleasant, a hint of distance lurks in their somewhere, a whisper of reaching out, but they never become impassioned or attempt to be the next big flavour.

After five full listens now plus a few songs chosen for repeat plays, I find myself enjoying parts of a few songs such as the instrumental theme after the lyrics in "in fuga", and some of the music in "completamente estranei", "pioggia in campagna" and the title track. Actually most of the songs have at least something that stands out and holds my attention. And I think "in principio" might be my favourite track, partly also because of the acoustic guitar which doesn't show up much on this album.

Most of the songs introduce some ear-catching musical theme which is built upon but soon carries on while the guitar and keyboards do their solo thing. I keep expecting something else interesting to happen but often the music continues for the lead instruments and then wraps up. The tempo doesn't vary much either, which means when the pace picks up a bit, that part stands out.

What I hear sounds very good, and for people who don't want anything too heavy, too weird, or too all-over-the- place, this is an easy album to appreciate. I'm not surprised that a few give it five stars. For my taste it's more of a 3.5 star album but the production and sound is very good so I'll round it up to four stars. Personally, I wouldn't say excellent addition but a very good addition to any prog collection.