KIM

L'Estate di San Martino with Kim has arrived at its fifth album. The band began in 1975 with the intention of writing music for a theatrical work and has come a long way with a very articulated path. Their debut with the 45 rpm "Il bimbo e l'eroe", with which they participated in a music competition, dates back to 1978. After some changes in the lineup, they only released their debut album in 2006, based on two concerts in 1983, which tells the story of a fisherman, "Alder". In the same year, one of the members, Adolfo Broegg, passed away, and the band dedicated the song "Il ricordo" to him. The album that the musician had actively collaborated on, Febo, was released in 2007. In 2012, the archivist Talsete di Marsantino (an anagram of the band's name) idea came to life, resulting in a mostly instrumental album presented live with the help of a narrator between each track to explain the story. The album featured two important figures in progressive rock, Steve Hackett - former Genesis guitarist - and the unforgettable and great Francesco Di Giacomo. Finally, in 2015, to celebrate the band's fortieth anniversary, they released ESM#40, an acoustic version of Talsete. The band then began working on this new project, Kim, which was released in November 2022. The album was performed in its entirety and presented during the preview of the third edition of the Trasimeno Prog Festival at the Giardini del Frontone in Perugia in August 2022. The work focuses on the figure of the young Kim - terminally ill with cancer - who, hoping for a future where a cure will be possible, is cryogenically frozen. The novelties are a couple: the most appreciated is the debut of Andrea Pieroni and his voice on the recording, which finally gives the band a well-defined identity; moreover, a more pronounced use of electronics contributes to personalizing the band's sound. In this perspective, the album starts off with the instrumental track "Cretto", which is very catchy. "Sul prato" starts with a dreamy introduction, followed by Pieroni's beautiful voice, and then a riff with overlapping sax and keyboards. "Inanna" features elements of folk music, while "Gocce" has some Genesis-style references that won't go unnoticed by fans of this musical genre. A more rock sound is present in the initial part of "Libera"; once again, Pieroni's voice is highlighted, and then Tofi's keyboards take over; it's another great track. "Il ciclope" is a short instrumental track, starting with electronic elements and continuing with a guitar solo, while "Il Monaco Pierre" travels into rock territory, tempered by the voice and a quieter final part. "Immaginami" is my favorite track; I had the chance to listen to it in preview, and I immediately noticed Andrea's voice. When the atmosphere becomes calmer, and the acoustic guitars start arpeggiating, a beautiful electric guitar pattern starts under a powerful drumming. Winds and keyboards join in and conclude the track greatly. But there are still about 20 minutes of music left to listen to...and what a finale; "Caleidoscopio" starts off very calmly, then the rhythm becomes powerful, and in the end, a beautiful keyboard solo embellishes everything. The album concludes with "Tewar," which is just eleven minutes long, but actually quite short since it includes a ghost track. The band members improvise freely in this instrumental finale, punctuated by a few brief vocalizations. The album is available in both CD and limited edition vinyl, with only 300 copies produced. L'Estate di San Martino has truly made its mark with this modern work, which tastefully draws from the 1970s progressive rock - undoubtedly the band's best album yet. We can only hope to enjoy it live in concert sometime in the near future.