CYCLOTHYMIA

This is the third album of this Spanish Prog band coming from the warm coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Their two previous albums left me a good impression since I am a newprog follower and they hit the right buttons to take notice of them. Despite of the fact that Antonio Valiente left the project, you cannot find any loss of creativity in the current album. Marcos Bevià, the new guitar player, seems to fit in with the particular universe of Numen.

Going to the point, Cyclothymia is made of six tracks, each of them with a particular color that sometimes reminds me of the classics, especially Pink Floyd in the 70's and Marillion in the 90's.

The first track is a musical gesture to the sci-fi movies from the 60's, but the message seems to have a second interpretation thanks to some jokes in the lyrics. The instrumentation is kind of orchestral and the structure made of two different parts, the first one more humouristic than the second one that transmits a sarcastic message.

The second track, Some faith, is a ballad that has to do with the title of this album. The lyrics are kind of disconsolate. Here you find those harmonies that remind me Pink Floyd. The four track, Cyclothymia will reproduce this feeling again. The interaction between the vocals and the guitar is really pretty. A grand piano is the base of the song.

The third and the fifth songs are the most positive and brights songs. Both of them have a typical song form with an instrumental interlude in the 3/4 of the tracks. The keyboards and guitars solos are pleasant. The lyrics uplifting.

The fourth track, Cyclothymia, is a rollercoaster of emotions, full of color and timbres. The message is the plot that supports all the musical structure. It's not a mere yuxtaposition of ideas, but a discourse that evolves in a cyclothymic way. It's the best track of the album and the soul of it.

This works finishes with Footprints, a neutral song in terms of emotion. Completely Marillionesque, made of three different parts. The first one is in the Floyd style. The second is an instrumental part with sketches and ideas brought by the synths, the guitar, the bass and even a vocal echo. The last part increases the tempo and its vitality.

All in all, if you're a newprog fan, you shouldn't miss Cyclothymia. From time to time some new gems appear in the enormous river call Prog rock.