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.

Death Reimagined

"It's not that I'm scared of dying, but I don't want to die knowing I could've done something more."

Kim Suozzi was a bright and lovely young woman of 23, a college student with a boyfriend she adored, and a very bright future she couldn't wait to embrace. When she was told she had an aggressive brain tumor and had little time left to live, she had a very bold and unique response. She raised money and decided to cryo-preserve her brain until such time as her cancer could be cured and her consciousness restored in some form. When she died in 2013, with her boyfriend Josh's love and support, she did just that. Kim's brain was removed and preserved at a cryogenic facility. It's a story filled with ethical dilemmas, chance, science, hope, human considerations, and more. And it is the lyrical theme of the album by the returning RPI band, L'Estate di San Martino.

L'Estate di San Martino has a long and complicated history that I'm not going to go into. You can read their bios and histories prepared by others if interested, but their origin story goes all the way back to 1975! I'm only going to discuss this current project, and it is a fascinating one. Per their liner notes, the band wanted to "address issues such as Darwinism, transhumanism, the eternal contrast between religion and science and the ultimate limit to which the latter can be pushed," and the true story of Kim Suozzi was the perfect template to achieve that. After learning about her story, I have to say that this album is really a beautiful tribute to Kim, and I hope that her family and friends were made aware of it.

It's been many years since I've heard the band's earlier works, but this album certainly feels quite different from what I remember. Whereas the older stuff had a more traditionally prog and neo-prog vibe, refined and pastoral, this album feels much more modern and less structured, less conventional, more spacey and odd---in a good way. They have stated that the change in sound was intentional and was due to the unique subject matter. They said they wanted to move "towards a modern progressive rock, almost free of old acoustic sections but full of various electronic injections." And that is what they've done. I'm a bit conflicted about the sound on Kim. At times I think it's a bit too refined and could use more edge, but I have that same issue with their old material and with most "refined prog bands." Beyond personal taste however, their sound here makes sense and supports the lyrical theme as intended. It's a striking collection of music in that it manages to sound quite unique without getting avant-garde or trying to shock you with histrionics. There's no shock happening here. The music is generally serene, thought-provoking, and chill.

You will still find the personality of the old L'Estate here, the acoustic beauty they mention. There is plenty of refined RPI beauty in the warm and pleasing vocals, acoustic guitars, flutes, and piano. But there is that notable injection of modernity that they reference. There are lots of modern keyboards, ambient sounds, techno samples, and feisty grooves and percussion in places. But what really sticks out to me regarding the sound is that there is lots of space, lots of atmosphere. This album breathes, takes its times, and has patience. They have created an album that is both pleasant to listen to actively but also perfect for personal introspection or pondering Kim's situation. It just works. I can only imagine what she went through and how devastating it must have been without even getting into the science part. But even without understanding the Italian language, the music alone was enough to engage me in the story. The cover art could not be more perfect for the album's music and theme.

"The options are either I die and nothing happens---likely---or I come back and things are weird probably, but I'm alive again. I think there's a one or two percent chance of this working. It's not like I'm counting on it, but it's definitely worth it."

While Kim's beliefs about faith and afterlife are different from my own, her optimism and spirt in the face of a horrific disease are inspiring to all of us. Years later Josh would bring Kim's special belongings to her Arizona cryo-facility. Kim's dad still calls her phone daily to hear her voice and leave her a message of support. He believes she may hear them one day. I ponder if Josh will marry someone else, or will he hold his torch for Kim until he dies? We can only wonder how it all turns out, but in more ways than one, it's a love story for the ages. My heart goes out to Kim and Josh. If you're curious, you can search and read many stories and find videos about her unusual journey.

Finally, I had to laugh because a blog review I read elsewhere calls the closing "Tewar/Ghost Tracks" the one "misstep" on the album, and I thought it was one of the finest moments! I can't read the band's mind, but my own interpretation is that it seemed a perfect condensed instrumental timeline from Kim's diagnosis, decline, death (the 40-second gap), her long stasis, and finally her conscious awakening (the angelic wordless female vocals) and her new life in some fascinating-to-imagine future. I could be completely wrong about that interpretation, but that's how it felt to me. In any case, it was a stunning and beautiful coda to an album that made a sad topic into a lovely listening experience. It could be the finest release to date from L'Estate di San Martino. Bravo.