ALTROVE

If Melting Clock's 2019 debut DESTINAZIONI involved recording sessions lasting almost a year, the universal high acclaim was proof that the band's penchant for aiming for perfection was fully rewarded. It took five years before the release of follow-up album ALTROVE but every minute spent on writing, arranging and recording was well-invested.

Opening track VERNICE (PAINT) provides a satisfying sonic link to the first album. Conjuring images of Genoa's frequently politically graffiti-marked caruggi and an oblique reference to the sea, the song carries the Eastern flavour present in VETRO from DESTINAZIONI. It also incorporates Stefano Amadei's bouzouki and makes use of the Phrygian mode which lends it an oppressive air, appropriate for the narrow alleys and sometimes hateful messages but also somewhere hidden gems can be found. It's immediately apparent that considerable care has been taken with the orchestration of the piece because, unlike its predecessor, there are no guest musicians helping out but I still had to check the liner notes to find who was playing violin only to be told that the authentic string sounds were reproduced using Audio Modeling virtual instruments. Title track ALTROVE (ELSEWHERE) was one of the album's early compositions and is set out in two parts, the former with a classical guitar introduction from Simone Caff' and a short expressive piano intermezzo leading into the instrumental second part. The sea motif is revisited in the wistful lyrics superbly delivered by Emanuela Vedana, a metaphor for longing for somewhere distant the protagonist feels would be better than their current situation. Alessandro Bosca comes to the fore on part 1 which features his flanged upright electric bass playing. Part 2 is suffused with Melting Clock DNA, an intelligent, balanced instrumental ensemble workout with a brief Caff' solo on electric guitar. IL MONDO AL SUO RISVEGLIO (THE WORLD AS HE WAKES UP) is a Bosca composition and though intensely personal, having been written about his son's first year and the affect of this young life on the entire family, it fits neatly within the over-arching feel of the album. The lyrics are abstract and poetic and Vedana has to employ her full vocal range to deliver them. I was told that it was the hardest vocal part they'd written which required a number of takes in the studio but I think the result demonstrates just how good a singer she is. The instrumental mid-part has a well-planned arrangement with clever variation from heavy- to clean guitar over subdued organ chords and then dirty, crunching guitar and the piece ends with a section in 13/8 time, revealing another hugely important but modest part of the Melting Clock jigsaw, drummer Francesco Fiorito. The choice of instrumental voices and the jazz phrasing give CITT' SPENTA (BLACKED-OUT CITY) a Parisienne feel but it seems to follow on seamlessly from IL MONDO. Bosco's abstract lyrics are based two topics, the Covid-19 pandemic and the death of a close family member but it's the arrangement which holds everything together, the essential layers underneath Vedana's vocal melody. This is where comparisons between Vedana and Annie Haslam seem particularly relevant, despite the group denying they've heard much Renaissance material! The final part of the track is referred to as 'the waltz' even though it's actually in 6/8 time and provides another example of Sandro Amadei's excellent orchestration. TRAMONTI DI CENERE (ASHEN SUNSETS) is my favourite track. It concerns the indifference with which people in positions of power treat the climate crisis and was the last song written for the album. It was intended as something at variance with the other tracks using different sounds such as a bright electric piano, heavier parts and more sedate passages and it resulted in an absolutely stunning modern prog composition with a structure closest to that of DESTINAZIONI's title track. Sandro Amadei's backing vocals and call and response vocals were a key feature of DESTINAZIONI but while they are much less prevalent on ALTROVE, they are used to great effect on TRAMONTI. Coming close behind TRAMONTI in the competition for best track is ENDURANCE, the longest piece on the album in the form of a prog multi-part classic based on the factual story of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose ship was found at the bottom of the Weddell Sea in 2022. The Endurance was crushed by sea-ice and sank in 1915, forcing Shackleton and his men to make an astonishing escape on foot and in small boats. The song has epic development, beginning with a clever ambient introduction of wind effect and the sound of footsteps compacting the snow underfoot, joined by atmospheric piano. TRAMONTI's development involved shifts back and forth between moods while ENDURANCE has a more traditional narrative-style development. Parts I and II NAUFRAGIO NEL GHIACCIO (SHIPWRECK ON THE ICE) and PERCORSI SUL PACK (TRAILS ON THE PACK) strongly remind me of another Black Widow affiliated band, Il Tempio delle Clessidre. The music reflects the tension in the story and Sandro Amadei is presented with his first lead vocal. Part V LA GEORGIA DEL SUD (SOUTH GEORGIA) provides a short calm interlude before the climactic denouement where Caff' unleashes an excellent David Gilmour-inspired solo.

Overall, the playing and compositions are more confident than on the first album. ALTROVE may have less diversity of style than the band's debut but it builds on the blocks laid down in 2019 to better define the Melting Clock sound, where each member makes a distinct difference. Twin guitars are an essential component, clean and distorted, and Stefano Amadei's bouzouki adds something exotic to the palette; the rhythm section clicks together perfectly where Fiorito plays interesting and difficult parts without any fuss; Vedana surely has the best voice in prog. In my opinion the greatest difference between the two albums is a shift from roughly equal input from Caff' and Sandro Amadei on DESTINAZIONI to a more keyboard-led ALTROVE, in part because of the unavailability of guest musicians which required written lines for flute, cello and violin to be played on keyboards. The instrumental layering has once again been expertly handled by producer Andrea Torretta.

Another easy 5 stars.

This review is an adaptation of my review on the ProgBlog site https://tinyurl.com/3jnc93kt