SEMENTE

This is an excellent debut by this Brazilian band and one of the best albums that I have heard from South America in recent years . I guess the music should be described as symphonic progressive with some spacey elements. There's certainly some Pink Floyd influence in it but overall the music can be classified symphonic. They use a lot of flute and sax, which are delivered by Sergio Benchimol. The guitar sound is usually very clear but at times it's a bit distorted and the guitar is also the main reason for the occasional spacey feel. There are also some ethnic influences but they are rather minimal. What I really like is that the band manages to show some originality here as well. This is a band that is not easily comparable to any other groups I have heard. Worth to notice is that this is a self-produced album but that fact doesn't deteriorate it in any way.

There are female vocals in three songs by Marcia Kosinski and in two of the tracks there are male vocals. The female vocals are especially good. Overall, this is very nice music and with a bunch of different influences. I have no idea if this band is still active but hopefully there is still more to come. My favourite track is the opener "Semente" but all the tracks are excellent.

Conclusion: An impressive debut album from this original progressive outfit.