LIGHT

Argentinian progressive rock band Light are back with their second album, and I am sure it is geography which is why they are not better known as I note that on ProgArchives the only review for their 2019 debut album is mine, and as I write this there have not been any for this 2020 follow-up. The line-up has seen two changes since the debut, with Claudio Delgift (guitars, vocals) and ONE (keyboards) being joined by Leandro Galera (bass) and drummer Nicolas Jourdain. They have also brought in a guest saxophonist on one track in Alex Pedini while none other than Derek Sherinian guests on another. Musically this is a neo-prog outfit who are a lot of fun, with some nice guitar leads and powerful interaction with keyboards. There are times when they are somewhat reminiscent of later period IQ, and others more Galahad, and they often utilise long instrumental passages which gives the music the opportunity to develop.

As with the debut, I still feel they would be better in getting a specialist singer involved, but it would need to be someone who has also contribute musically as otherwise there are long periods of time when they will have nothing to do (one has to feel for Ian Gillan when Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore were going off on one of their musical tangents, there is only so much a singer can do with tambourine or bongos). It is not that Claudio cannot sing, but rather to my mind they need a different approach to take it to the next level. There are times when musically it is incredibly intense and everyone is moving at pace, times where the guitar is very much to the fore, and then there are others when they slow it down and it becomes less frenetic, more thoughtful, and polished. Musically they are tight, and all of them are strong players, with arrangements designed to let each of them shine without getting too far into the "look at me" territory. It will be interesting to see where they go with the next release, and whether they can generate more publicity as they definitely have promise.

I originally got in touch with this band as I remembered reviewing an album in the 90's, but I really should have done my homework as while that band was from Holland, these guys are from Argentina. A fourpiece, they comprise Claudio Delgift (guitar/vocals), ONE (keyboards), Leandro Biera(bass) and Francisco Carpintero (drums) although I note that Ian Beabout (Colin Tench and others) provided flute on one track on this their debut, which came out at the beginning of last year. If I didn't know when this had been released, or the country from which they are based, I would have thought that this was also from the 90's (although the production is far superior) as this is a solid neo-prog. The rhythm section keeps it tight, and this leaves the keyboards to provide what is often a backup melody while the guitar is very much hard rock based with lots of lead lines when the power chords are kept away. Although they start with an instrumental track, the band do use vocals as well, and this is the one area which somewhat lets them down. It's not that Claudio doesn't have a reasonable voice, it's just that I feel they may benefit from having a specialist singer. That being said they do have somewhat lengthy instrumental sections, which would explain why they are a quartet.

It certainly doesn't sound as if it comes from South America, South London would have been my bet if I hadn't known, as this is very reminiscent of what was on the circuit back in the day. They have already released the follow up, which I haven't heard, and on that one they have managed to secure the services of none other than Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater/Sons Of Apollo/Joe Bonamassa) for one song so they are certainly starting to make a name for themselves. Definitely for fans of neo prog, this is a band to keep an eye on.