STATI D' ALIENAZIONE

Fine rookie hybrid band, full of spirit and promise

Side C are a young band from Verona who have released their debut EP in 2009. The 5-piece offers a somewhat eclectic hybrid of various genre/band influences both within and outside of the RPI movement. Conversing with the band they view themselves through the prism of a modern band accepting of all influence but you can clearly hear their love for the Italian scene coming through. Their future direction will no doubt become clearer as they continue to work on new material, but for now we have a band that is both promising, dramatic, and melodic, surely pleasing to fans of RPI, symphonic, and crossover genres. Their maiden EP reminds me a little bit of the Coral Caves EP from a few years back, less Floydian than that, but a similar mix of the old and new schools of prog rock.

What struck me straight off as I enjoyed their CD was the feistiness in songwriting and playing, and the power of the vocals. The four 6-8 minute tracks on the EP "Stati d' Alienazione" introduce us to one of the few female vocalists who come to mind when thinking of RPI bands these days. Laura Bressan sings with great power and passion in the tradition of RPI and thankfully she chooses Italian over English here on three of the four track (stick with the Italian lyrics Laura, we love it!) Michele Zanotti is a talented guitarist propelling many sections with distorted power chords but always ready to throw the change-ups at you. Keyboardist Thomas Pessina employs synth, organ, and my favorite piano throughout, capable of both thoughtful solo runs and lovely atmospherics. Rhythm section features Paola Cantachin on bass and Giulio Stevanoni on the kit, together forming a solid and energetic frame for the band. The tracks are for the most part simply wonderful. Side C pulls together listener-friendly progressive rock as played by many modern bands these days, using melodic music and catchy hooks to pull the listener in, but thankfully they move beyond that as well. There are lots of side excursions where the guitar or keys will break off into these cool little sections of funky or jazzy rock, or classically tinged keyboard. The transition is often a bit abrupt and the excursion too short lived but I truly love those moments as they are a hallmark of RPI. They combine some mainstream tendencies with old school mischief (not unlike Coral Caves) and I hope their love of Banco wins out over the former because I am fascinated to see where they go next. "Radio alienazione/imperfezione" begins with a catchy, almost latin-flavored mode hooked to the first powerful chorus by a fantastic little piano transition. Beautiful and uplifting right from the gate! It builds and pushes Bressan's vocals, a nice opening statement. "L'altro lato" combines a bright and cheery American AOR keyboard sound (think Styx) with Italian panache and even jazzy undertones. "slowly dies" is my least favorite because it's English and I'm a language snob as regards RPI, but the softer moments of the track allow you to hear the other side of Laura's vocal, and the drums and bass come through warmly with the acoustic guitar. The middle of closer "nuova speranza" features a very cool keyboard/guitar improv sparring section that generates some really inviting moments. A beautiful ending to the song ties together the radio sound effects from the beginning. A solid little disc for the beginning of this group and one that will have me watching them in the future. Selfishly I would like to see them veer toward the Italian prog strengths in their arsenal as I can truly feel the potential there, but the band will have to follow their heart of course! Bravo Side C!

The cover art is wonderful and personal taking up both front and back covers. Likely drawn by a friend of the group it shows the members walking up a hill from the beginning of their journey as they search for the muse. The band admitted that they lacked the studio time necessary to get the sound just as they want it, but really there is not much to apologize for. Sure, the production could be better but the music here completely trumps any concern over production to this listener. The EP is available to stream in its entirety on their Myspace page, for free, so listen and write them a review of your own. For those who wish to buy a CD version, you can contact the band and ask for details.

SIDE C are a young Italian band who offer up a variety of styles in a very progressive manor. The female vocals are often passionate and aggressive while the music itself shifts gears often. This is their debut EP of four songs at over 28 minutes.

"Radio Alienaione / Impertezione" opens with someone changing channels on a radio before the music kicks in before a minute. Vocals too. Some nice organ here before piano then heaviness takes over. Back to that earlier organ led sound after 3 1/2 minutes. Those passionate vocals with that heavier sound comes in late. "L'altro Lato" opens with acoustic guitar as light drums and organ join in. Synths and a fuller sound follows. It settles a minute in with vocals. Some backing vocals on this song too. It's heavier before 3 minutes. It turns jazzy before 4 minutes. Synths are back with vocals 4 1/2 minutes in. It's heavy then jazzy to end it.

"Slowly Dies" opens with keyboards before a full sound kicks in quickly. Nice guitar. Vocals after 2 minutes and the organ sounds good. It settles before 3 1/2 minutes as vocal melodies and acoustic guitar follow. It gets heavier again and we get some excellent guitar before 5 minutes. Passionate vocals before 7 minutes. "Nuova Speranza" opens with some deep bass lines as drums then keyboards join in. Piano is followed by female vocals and some male vocals too. It settles 2 minutes in with piano and vocals. It's kind of jazzy after 3 minutes. Vocals are back before 5 minutes and some nice laid back guitar follows. It's building before settling again 7 minutes in. This is an uplifting ending.

A promising start for this band and they're well worth checking out on MySpace.

Nice debut EP from this Italian band!

This is one of those new and promising bands that appear from different parts of the world, letting us know that prog rock is more than alive. One more time, I discovered a band thanks to other people's reviews, this time was Finn's one that caught my attention a couple of months ago, so I decided to visit Side C's myspace and listen to their debut EP released in 2009.

Its name is "Stati D'Alienazione", features only four songs and a total time of 28 minutes. The first track is "Radio Alienazione/Imperfezione", which stars with an odd introduction, like if they had a radio and were turning the station every two seconds, seems that the music that sounds there has something to do with the band's influences, I don't know. Later just before the first minute ends, the vocals and the real song start. There is a symphonic sound here for sure, but with some other elements like a Spanish like guitar that make you think this is not a pure symphonic prog band, anyway they would fit in the RPI genre without a doubt. The vocals are from a female, so the sound may be gentler.

"L'Altro Lato" opens with nice acoustic guitar but a minute later it suddenly changes to a keyboard driven symphonic sound, it is too good, and later the song slows down, vocals enter with that soft guitar sound, there are also some backing vocals. But the good thing is when the song changes again and that keyboard appears, it makes a very nice sound. There is also a heavier part where the guitar sounds nice; and later there is even a kind of jazzy mood.

"Slowly Dies" is the longest composition and probably the best. The introduction is great with addictive keyboards and nice guitars. More than two great minutes of pure instrumental music with some nice changes that let us appreciate the band's talent, later the vocals appear but the sound is still great, this is the first song with English vocals, the previous ones were in Italian. After minute three there is like an interlude or a short stop, then drums and vocals appear together again.

"Nuova Speranza" is another great song. It starts with some raw bass notes while drums and keyboards are being played. Later vocals (even male as background) appear, at the same time a delicate piano sounds, but later a heavier side of the symphonic prog prevails. The gentle sound of the beginning returns at minute two. But later, an enjoyable instrumental passage takes over the song, there is also a jazzy feeling which later changes again. This is a very nice song actually.

Congrats to this young band, they have an excellent future, if the work hard they may create some masterpieces. Now, if you have the time go to Side C myspace and listen to this free EP, you will have a good time. My final grade is 3 stars.

Enjoy it!

Side C were a young band from Verona "marked by diverse approaches, mainly stylistic, with contaminations ranging from blues to funky-jazz and hard rock, always within the boundaries of progressive rock" (Jim Russell). Despite some line up changes, they had been active performing live on a local basis from 2006 to 2012 and in this period self-released two demos: "Stati d'alienazione" (2009) and the live "Andare via..." (2011). The first one was recorded by a line up with Laura Bressan (vocals), Michele Zanotti (electric and acoustic guitars), Thomas Pessina (piano, organ, synth), Giulio Stevanoni (drums) and Paola Cantachin (bass, keys). It features four nice tracks, three sung in Italian and one in English.

The opener, "L'imperfezione" (The imperfection), is an ironic piece about the endless flaws of the human race and has a solemn pace and powerful, passionate vocals. The second track, "L'altro lato" (The other side), starts with an acoustic guitar arpeggio and soaring keyboards that remind me of Le Orme, then a jazzy interlude follows and leads you through a dark, dreamy path in search for the hidden sides of the human nature driven by excellent vocal parts. "Slowly Dies" is the only track sung in English and in my opinion the less convincing one while the complex, introspective closer "Nuova speranza" (New Hope) is a kind of glance towards the sky in search for new light coming from a man who feels like a wax mask looking for new experiences... Well, if you find my words too confused or hermetic have a try and listen to this work on MySpace or YT!

All in all, despite the inexperience of the band, in my opinion on this demo EP you can find many good ideas and appreciate the great potential of the musicians involved.