PLENILUNIO

The music is passionate, with nice warm vocal parts sung in italian by Roberto Maggioto who is also responsable for druming, also the kyboards are quite good and guitars aswell. The balance between italian pop sensibilities and symphonic manuveres is quite well put, there are in places more symphonic prog passages then pop, that is giving to Plenilunio a RPI status.

Forte pieces, opening Via da te, the title track, Copie simili has some good keyboards, bass lines and guitars, senza fiato is to me the best tune of the album (sounding like was taken from any Kerygmatic Project album, really, what a coincidence), it sounds like it is from '80s music.

All in all decent efort by this gone under the radar band, and sure this type of prog is too light for pure symphonic lovers and too prog for pop listners, I think they incorporate both genres quite well and both albums desearve attention, even is just for couple of spins. I particulary like what I heared on Vivo controvento, warm beautiful romatic melodic prog, tipical italian in sound.. A nice art work aswell.

Give them a chance, 3 solid stars.

The opener "Giugno '78" (June '78) takes you back in time on a journey on the wings of nostalgia. Sitting in an armchair with a cat at your feet, watching at an old photo-book with a smell of white glue, you listen to an old vinyl album... The first notes take off like bats drawing mysterious trajectories in your room and conjure up the images of a trip to Zurich in the seventies, a solid friendship, hopes and dreams. Now your memories are like lightnings escaping from the clouds of Time...

The title track "Respiri lunghi 1000 miglia" (1000 miles long breaths) tells of old split ups and painful separations, ships sailing across infinite, metaphorical oceans, people and lovers that you can't forget, moonless nights without love, timeless vigils and unexpected come backs after years of absence... The following "Il blu" (Blue) depicts in music and words a magical dawn and all you have to do is close your eyes and imagine a dreamy landscape with woods and hills all around: you would like to pick up a piece of blue sky and put it in a canister saving it for the grey days...

Next comes the melodic "Pioggia" (Rain) that describes an autumnal day with rain drops falling on the windows like tears from the sky and dancing leaves in the air swept by the wind. You can see the bolts on the horizon tearing apart the sky like knives while romantic memories are still lingering in your head... "Il finestrino" (The window) takes you for a while on the dark side of the moon and depicts a train running fast across hills and plains. The thoughts of a commuter on his way back home unfolds while the panorama changes outside the window...

"Sogno" (Dream) is lighter and depicts a man who is living a kind of musical fairy tale, a daydreamer strolling around the city and feeling like a child in an amusement park. It leads to the suggestive "Inconfessabile" (Unconfessable) that tells about the meeting of two lovers in the city, on a windy winter day lightened by desire and passion. Then it's the turn of the calm, reflective "Le paure" (Fears) that evokes old fears, haunting memories and icy dreams melting in an autumnal day, swept away by the inner light of a new awareness.

"Arrivi tu" (You come) recalls Lucio Battisti and is light and melodic. On an autumnal day the image of a charming, smiling woman comes out of the blue and makes your heart beat fast... Next comes the bitter-sweet "Lettera al paradiso" (Letter to Paradise), about the relationship between a father and his son. "Sui gradini" (On the steps) is a romantic piece that tells of emotional alchemies that set your eyes on fire while your reason get lost on the rocks of your senses. It leads to closer "Pleni", a short instrumental with an ethereal, baroque atmosphere...

On the whole, this is a nice album with strong melodies and some good ideas but I'm sure that this band can do better. At the moment they are recording a new album with a renewed line up and I'm looking forward to listen to it...

By the way, you can listen to the complete album in streaming on deezer or spotify: have a try!

Plenilunio were extremely influenced by the 70's scene of Italian Prog, not much of the Banco or Le Orme school, but more of the FORMULA TRE, ERRATA CORRIGE and similar bands' stylings, which was an undisputed Symphonic Rock of the softer side with slight poppy injections.Their debut contained twelve short tracks with mellow keyboards, smooth guitar plays and excellent vocals, all obtaining the classic romantic sound of the Italian tradition and le by some exceptional melodies, refined orchestrations and light electric tunes.Despite the relaxed atmosphere the armour of the band comprised of Mellotron, organ, acoustic and electric piano and synthesizers towards a flexible instrumentation.About 1/3 of these pieces are very accesible with Melodic Rock sensibilities, driven by the background keyboard parts and the emotional solos, while the rest of the album is good, albeit a bit secure, Italian-flavored Prog Rock with symphonic interludes, spacious textures, sentimental vocal harmonies and Classical-tinged piano themes.But even these cuts tend to be very memorable with focus on solid songwriting than complex moves, not necessarilly a bad thing, because the music is pretty great with Maggiotto being a fantastic frontman and the instrumental core performing at a sufficient level switching from symphonic to artistic to ultra-melodic deliveries.

I guess with this album the band was done for good with no further updates on their FB page, but the document left behind is a fine example of melodic, soft Italian Prog with symphonic orientations and a discreet old-school aura.Recommended.