IL TEMPO DELLA GIOIA

QVL's take on Prog is very 'Symphonic', but almost completely devoid of 'Rock'. It's far too subtle and mellow for my tastes. The music is very classically influenced, largely composed of orchestral string ensemble playing, flute, clarinet, and piano.

I much prefer RPI bands that heavily utilized modern (for their time) synthesizers... it may sound strange, but this album is just too organic sounding.

'Un Giorno, un Amico' is probably my favorite song of the lot. It reminds me a bit of Gentle Giant circa 'Acquiring the Taste'... but it is almost ruined by an extremely annoying violin solo that seems to never end, resulting in drudgery.

Every song on this album has a similarly aimless plodding feel. 'Villa Doria Pamphili' has a beautiful melancholic piano intro, but it leads nowhere and is overtaken by a tedious sappy violin melody.

Much like QVL's first album, this one has scattered bits of good music in each track, but it's never bridged together very well... there's a lot of empty air between the good bits. 'E Accaduto una Notte' begins with a nice creepy atmospheric choir, but this also goes nowhere... it just stops, then silence, then another boring quiet theme slowly tip-toes in. The whole album feels like a long build up to nothing.

Maybe i'm missing something? I just don't get it. I recognize this band's talent for baroque songwriting, and respect their excellent musicianship, but this album just does not move me. To be blunt, i find it very boring... and i would advise potential listeners to avoid this unless they are fans (and frequent listeners) of classical music.