SOLITAIRE

Canary in the coal mine:

Elegy

'Elegy (which may be traced to the Greek word elegos, 'song of mourning') commonly refers to a song or poem lamenting one who is dead; the word may also refer somewhat figuratively to a nostalgic poem, or to a kind of musical composition.'-Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

When handsome, vibrant, talented young musicians invest themselves with whole-hearted passion, in crying out for the right to LIVE freely, wholly, without fear of despots, environmental ruin, and spiritual degradation- then we are witness to the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

Solitaire

This debut album, released April 2019 by Alc'ntara- a progressive/psychedelic quintet from Catania, Italy- figuratively fleshes out the life-and-death songs of those canaries, many of which were fated to die if they encountered lethal fumes.

They lived and they died to warn others of danger.

Solitaire, part 2

Solitaire is of course a game, played alone, with the cards that are dealt.

It can also denote gems set singly, and to my surprise can refer to several types of thrushes, and now-extinct large flightless birds.

This elegiac conceptual album seems meditative, deliberate, and melancholy- the laments, the rage, the agony, and the hopes are all quiet, muffled, and muted.

Resistance

Band members explain that the concept driving Solitaire is resistance. The music, the lyrics, the effects chosen (often spoken words, or sounds of children, or water flowing) all cohere and interact to address the mortal danger, and the way the sensitive person can and must respond.

The Piggy Person

This revolting, riveting image portrays the heedless, self-absorbed, mindless consumer, the one with spaghetti stuffed into one's orifice and dangling from one's greedy fingers.

It's an image of destruction, of hiding oneself from reality, refusing to see what IS, focused solely on selfish pleasure, gorging while the world burns.

The music

In contrast, the music is deliberate, sometimes gently dissonant- as when a solo guitar picks a delicately jangling chord, and sometimes soaring. At times there are massive walls of keyboards- the Hammond organ and mellotron and synthesizer, students perhaps of Pink Floyd, as we hear the Stratocaster slashing and soaring and singing over the sustained keyboards.

Artfully interwoven effects Within the framework of these at times quiet, gentle passages along with the majestic keyboard-driven ones, there are interwoven snippets of sermons/diatribes/warnings/dirges.

These are in the background, and if carefully tracked add an edge to the menace, the sense of desperation, and the urgency of the message in the concept here.

The labored breathing that opens the album, the eerie, nightmarish sounds give way to electric piano and the vocal reverie: 'Oh, what is love? What is love''

The natural world

We hear bird songs, flowing water, children at play, people going about their lives. Lyrics address the cosmos, the vastness of the universe/multiverse, the ocean.

'The solitary man is blessed', we hear in 'Bad Bones'. Yet, 'We are tired to be alone.'

All the while we are rocked, lulled, stabbed, and quietly shocked by the at times melancholy sounds, or the elegiac passages.

''As if we deserve to be loved''

As if we deserve to be loved There is a note, a touch, a motif of grace and of love and of faith- despite a strong repudiation of organized religions ('Faith')- most clearly heard in the final two tracks of this album.

'The Resistance' opens with ominous sustained chord sounds, with spoken words denouncing violence, human greed, and xenophobia/isolationism.

The melancholic lyrics challenge us to choose to be alive, to fully BE.

Seasons

In the closing track- gentle, mournful, reflective- the song builds into the majestic, elegiac, unhurried climax, that then fades'

And we hear a single indigenous, tribal singer. What is he saying? It evokes the dancing native in wonder and in harmony with life, the sound of chimes or bells, and fading out to stillness.

Two caveats

This is a thoughtful, well-reasoned work of art.

I do suggest to those non-native English speakers who choose to write and sing in that language, to consult with a native English speaker/writer. For me, sometimes these lyrics didn't all make sense, powerful as they are, and as much as I wanted to fully grasp their meanings.

Secondly, the pace and timing of the album was mostly slow, reflective, and deliberate. I wished sometimes for more passion, more energy, some changes of pace.

In conclusion

Well worth your time and your money in support of this talented young group of 'canaries in the coal mine.'

My rating: 3.5 cautionary canaries, rounded up to 4 because of the import of their message.

This is the debut album from Alc'ntara, who are based in Sicily's second largest city, Catania. Sicily may not be a hotbed of progressive rock, but of course Italy has always been a major market. However, this is not RPI in any sense at all, but rather a far more modern take. According to the band, 'Solitaire' is a concept album exploring the meaning of resistance in liquid modern times and is a journey through space rock, progressive ballads and psychedelic blues. All lyrics are in English, and while all three of the above genres are well represented, often at the same time, there is also a feeling of indie rock, Muse and Jadis about the proceedings as well.

It is an incredibly atmospheric album, and the vocals fit perfectly with the music, which for the vast majority of the time is very laid back indeed. When listening to individual songs one finds this incredibly impressive and fascinating, as the reverb and textures really bring the listener in closer. However, when it is like this for pretty much the whole album it does tend to lose the effect and instead becomes something where the sum of the parts is certainly less than the individual. There just isn't enough contrast within the album, and whereas some metal bands suffer by being too loud all the time, the opposite is true here. Without the use of contrast and dynamics it becomes a chore to listen to as opposed to a joy, which is a real shame as the individual songs are all very good indeed. By the time I came around to listen to this for the third or fourth time I knew what to expect, and wasn't really looking forward to the experience, as I knew by the end I would be seeking out something quite different as a musical earwash.

But, I am also aware there will be plenty who want to listen to music which is never New Age or Ambient, and is always 'proper' songs, yet is incredibly laid back even though the electric guitar is an incredibly important instrument throughout. This is definitely a band to keep an eye on as they are showing great promise, but need to provide more emphasis in places.

Fully Five Stars! Solitaire by new band, Alcantara, is one of the finds of the year. I have a bad habit of collecting far too may prog albums and often a lot just meld into a pool of, 'Nice to listen to'' but with nothing to catch me enough for repeated listens. This one however, keeps insisting on being played over and over. This is beautifully constructed prog where every instrument is given space to breathe, the antithesis of much Prog, especially from America, where the idea seems to be that every instrument should be more forward than every other instrument. The guitar here is particularly notable, where every note is perfectly chosen and clearly heard. Very reminiscent of David Gilmour. The vocals at times, especially on Bad Bones, remind me of Jan-Henrik Ohme from Gazpacho or Bruce Soord from Pineapple Thief. Overall, this should appeal to fans of Pink Floyd, Airbag, Riverside, Satellite, etc. It is very similar to another band I really loved but only made on album, and that was Grendel with The Helpless. I do hope these guys keep this up

Pink Floyd is one of those bands with no shortage of imitators and near-clones. Less-blatant aping and influence are nearly inescapable in modern psychedelia and prog. Pink Floyd had many distinct sounds throughout their career, though, giving modern acts plenty of material to draw inspiration from. Alcànatara?a quintet hailing from Italy?is one of those acts that doesn't try to hide their Floydian roots.

I tried to think of other acts to list in the "For fans of" section of the review header, but this band draws from late-70s Floyd so clearly, I couldn't think of a more apt recommendation. This is not to call the music here derivative or unoriginal, though. Pink Floyd is a heavy, heavy influence, but I'd never mistake any of these recordings as some discarded track from The Wall's recording sessions.

"Treefingers" opens the album in a slow-building fashion. The sparse percussion and stretched-out guitar lines of the first few minutes eventually give way to a big, Gilmouresque solo in the song's closing minute. In contrast, "Logan" has a more immediate intro. Rich organ tones and vaguely bluesy guitar licks are the focus on this track. The bridge of this composition switches things up in a refreshing manner that draws in some of the melodic tools of indie rock.

Alcàntara dial up the drama on "Bad Bones", where they channel the better moments of The Wall. It's slow-moving and weighty, and the second half features some interesting interplay between the bassist and drummer. Unfortunately, "After the Flood" follows this by opening with some of The Wall's monotony and torpidity. This song is full of obvious homages to the elements of latter-Waters-era Pink Floyd I'm unenthusiastic about; it's plodding, overwrought, and doesn't say or do anything particularly interesting. The weaknesses of The Wall are also covered in "The Resistance", which takes the atmosphere of that album's unspectacular interlude tracks but stretches them out to three minutes.

This record's title track is a brief instrumental which evokes Opeth's best gentle moments and acts as a fitting prelude to the slow, jazz-tinged "Faith". "Faith" features one of the most natural, satisfying build-ups on the record as it gradually escalates into something quite foreboding. The lyrics are trite, but that's forgivable.

The album-closing "Seasons" features another slow build, though it really takes its time to get going. In isolation, that's not much of an issue, but almost every song on Solitaire opens this way. By the midpoint of this song, it's gotten going into an engaging groove with a good guitar solo, though the fadeout is overlong.

Solitaire is an enjoyable record, if a bit too blatantly inspired by The Wall. Alcàntara have room to grow, especially in regard to how they structure their songs. Almost every song starts slow before building to a David Gilmour-style guitar solo, and that structure got predictable and tedious by the album's end. If you're a bigger fan of The Wall or Roger Waters's solo career than I am, this record should be right up your alley. And even if you share my reservations, I'd recommend giving Solitaire a chance.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2020/07/06/album-review-alcantara-solitaire/