L'ENIGMA DEL CAPITALE

I must admit to being somewhat mystified. On a site full of listeners who claim to be fans of Area and other adventurous music, how can so few have found Il Castello Delle Uova? How can there be so few reviews for their work on our esteemed prog-rock site? Well, if a recent post on their social media account is any indication, they're not particularly worried about it. Granted, I'm using the auto-translate to read their Italian-language musings, but they appeared to address concerns that they aren't playing the modern rock game "correctly" to achieve success, that they aren't releasing new stuff often enough or worrying about social media or bowing to press. They instead explain that the muse moves when the muse moves, when inspiration dictates, and much of the rest of the music industry game is not their problem. For the record, their music is certainly well served by something in their collective philosophy because this is some fun stuff.

Way back when I reviewed Appunti Sonori per una Cosmogonia Caotica, I had read that the band appreciated "Area, Crimson, and Woody Allen" among many others. That seemed a perfect informational nugget to me at the time as I felt their music blended technical ecstasies with a sense of humor. I feel like these guys could possibly be Zappa fans as well. Founded in 1999, the band refer to themselves as "post-prog." They are an eclectic, party-fizzed concoction of jazzy explorations for the demanding, adventurous music fan. They have returned here with their follow-up studio album entitled L'enigma del Capitale, and it is another wonderfully strange collection of unbridled, no-rules, collaborative rock. There is one difference of note between the two studio albums, and that is that the first album had quite a lot of horn whereas this one does not.

Capitale swirls out of your speakers, some kind of vortex of keyboard/guitar experiments with boisterous Italian vocals both sung and spoken, wandering, mischievous piano, and a hoppin' rhythm section. There are also the driving, angular rock sections, avant-jazz jams, spacey breathers, and frantic (or sometimes ambient) loops. There are sections of huge, ringing distorted chords with blistering, wild leads over them, not unlike playing that Zappa, Vai, or Satriani might approve of. It's often a very busy, dense listen. The first album may have a looser feel with more spaces for respite, though I like the fact that this one doesn't have the horns. Either way, ICDU is a must if you are a lover of daring rock music. Both studio albums are excellent, so which one should you check out first? I would advise this. If you love high profile trumpet playing in your rock music, get the first album. If you're not big on brass taking space away from your lead guitar, get this one first. Either way, crank 'em up loud---this is saucy stuff.