NATHAN

I'm always inclined to collate this with a string of pearls, when a band delivers all included songs on the same high sophisticated level. Means no weaknesses allowed. That embraces compositional approach and instrumental execution in the same way. Without wanting to give out any (school) grades, this surely is a rounded case, but Piergiorgio Abba's keyboard work makes the real sensation here, if you should ask me. Fatti Non Foste is coming in with enormous groove, you immediately experience how melody and trickiness are corresponding within their songs. A sing along tune somehow, most certainly if you are of an Italian origin. Heavy guitar riffs on the mid-tempo purposed Mononoliti then. Symphonic string patterns are striking, this has a bit of ballad too anyhow. Let me emphasize once again that I find the compositions very appealing, the more I listen. Another hint wanted? The propulsive multi-varianted Delirio Onirico comes next ... aso ... aso. 'Uomini Di Sabbia' offers more than sixty minutes of cool prog music in a typical Rock Progressivo Italiano vein. All summed up: this is something exceptional, essential, you should not miss, a fabulous album.

They start the album with Figli Di Cane: a modern sound with a tight and powerful rhythm-section and harder- edged guitar, embellished with electric piano, organ and fat synthesizer flights, and topped with strong Italian vocals. Halfway a dreamy part featuring soaring keyboards, warm vocals and twanging acoustic guitars (evoking early Genesis). Then a bombastic eruption with organ and propulsive guitar riffs, flashy synthesizer runs and fiery guitar, accompanied by Mellotron choirs. The music turns into a dynamic mid-tempo with moving Italian vocals and fiery electric guitar work, slowly the music fades away, Nathan has delivered a captivating first musical impression, to me it sound like a modern blend of Seventies symphonic rock and Nineties Neo-Prog.

The next three compositions are 'trademark Nathan': a modern blend of symphonic rock and Neo-Prog with frequent shifting moods and a lot of soli on keyboards and guitar, topped with powerful Italian vocals. My highlights are a fiery guitar solo with howling runs in Invisibile, sensitive Hackett-like guitar and a spectacular break with propulsive guitar riffs and fat synthesizer flights in Le Vie Dei Canti and varied keyboard work and harder-edged guitar play in L'ultimo Giro. Although there is a lot to enjoy in these three songs sometimes my attention slips away. Because the atmospheres sound a bit similar, or more like a cascade of nice musical ideas than a composition.

The dynamic song L'Ombra Del Falco alternates between dreamy and bombastic: from twanging acoustic guitars with soaring keyboards, tender piano, delicate flute and warm vocals to a powerful mid-tempo with dynamic drums, a powerful male voice and fine female vocal harmonies and sumptuous keyboards and harder-edged guitar play. A kind of 'Neo-Prog meets 70-77 Genesis' (Tony Banks Mellotron, organ and synthesizer sound).

Next Indaco, my highlight on this CD. First a dreamy part with melancholical vocals, tender piano and synthesizer work and a majestic Mellotron violin sound. Gradually the music has turned into a slow rhythm with soft synthesizer flights and Mellotron drops, culminating in compelling soli on electric guitar and Minimoog, goose bumps! The final part delivers first a mellow interlude with warm piano and Mellotron, and then a bombastic finale featuring Mellotron and powerful electric guitar.

The final two tracks are a bit more song-oriented (Maschere has even hit potential), alternating between symphonic rock, Nineties Neo-Prog(Arena, Everon) and AOR (Eighties Styx and Kansas): strong Italian vocals, lots of shifting moods and breaks, often powerful and bombastic, layered with harder-edged guitar play and tasteful keyboards (electric piano, Minimoog, Hammond, Mellotron).

My rating: 3,5 star.

The first edition of this review was recently published on Dutch prog website Background Magazine.

`Figli di Cane' sets a nice early high standard, with Daniele Ferro's twisting electric guitar work constantly snaking in and out of the subtly sensational piece alongside Piergiorgio Abba's glistening keys, Fabio Sanfilippo's powerful drumming and Mauro Brunzu pulsing bass backing up Bruno Lugaro's commanding call-to-arms croon (and female singer Monica Giovannini provides lovely restrained backing vocals here and throughout the entire disc). This winning opener reminds of a cross between legendary vintage Italian proggers Le Orme and a modern symphonic group like Logos, and it also makes unexpectedly fleeting darker turns for great dramatic effect.

Piergiogio's keys are front-and-center throughout `Invisibile', swooning with orchestral-like fancy one moment, cloaked in Mellotron veils the next, and when they're surrounded by ragged guitar noodling, the piece wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Clive Nolan/Arena album (and listen to that gorgeous outro passage in the final minute!) ' just, you know, sung in Italian instead! `Le vie dei Canti' is a more romantic and softer break that still finds a bit of grunt, and `L'ultimo Giro' clips along with a swaggering mid-tempo stride that calls to mind the positivity of the early Neo-Prog albums.

The urgent `L'ombra del Falco' is the centrepiece of the album, all fanciful whirring synths, punchy organ bursts, pretty piano and thick coursing bass behind Bruno's dignified rasp, and the track will have Le Orme fans weeping for joy. The intelligent and sophisticated `Indaco' is sobering piano-lifted introspection with sublime scratchy Mellotron blasts and deeply heart- wrenching soloing guitar emotion, making for another standout moment that prog fans will completely fall for. `Maschere' has brash and crunching bombastic breaks, and closer `Esistono Ore Perfette' bristles with a touch of danger and an air of regal pomp, the piece perfectly encapsulating the sound of the classic Le Orme years, just given a modern approach (although it disappointingly fades out prematurely mid guitar solo - boo!).

`Era' is the sort of album that requires patient listening. On the surface, many of the tracks have the same basic structure ' tight songs with raspy vocals that rarely stop, reprising choruses with short little instrumental bursts here and there, and maybe a slightly extended outro once in a while. For some listeners, attention might wane, but commit to multiple spins, and very quickly the power and refinement of Nathan's music becomes apparent. There might be flashier bands around, but Nathan's secret weapon and their strength lies in how skilfully and delicately implemented all their instrumental touches are, and it helps make `Era' another superb effort from the fellas. If you like modern acts like Logos and Panther & C but still want music respectful of the vintage Italian prog masters (especially Le Orme), this quiet achiever of an album will be just for you, and with 2018 seemingly a little quieter on the Italian prog front, Nathan might just have released one of the standout albums from that country for the year.

Four stars.

Noteworthy are the longer tracks that clock in the 7-8 minute range, as they provide a wide panorama of stylistic curves and straight lines, with the occasional chicane where things suddenly slow down to a crawl. Mini-epics such as the title track, the magnificent "Resto Qui" and the muscular then soft "A Ferro e Fuoco" showcase the brilliance of their technical abilities within strong and creative compositions, supremely confident and courageous. In this context, guests flutist Davide Rivera and pianist Marco Milano add more than just elegance and craft, infusing grandeur and majesty as well. "A Ferro e Fuoco" in particular is one of many outright masterpieces featured on this disc.

But the best track here is the sublime, I mean SUBLIME, "Il Tempo dei Miracoli" that has a slight tinge of Blackfield's poignant masterpiece "Pain", a seductive melancholia that swoons the heart, saddens the soul and yet somehow, still shines brightly with hope. The main melody is achingly expressed in Italian by singer Bruno Lugaro, who takes his sweet time in delivering his bruised lament, followed by up the most honeyed guitar licks ever and scouring mightily into the night sky. The colossal choir apex half way through gives the composition more impetus to nail it down, just perfectly, as Ferro vacillates on his axe. The tempo is kept torrid until the final hurrah, mellotron and drums in unison, laying down another velvet carpet for the guitar to slide into nirvana. A grandiose slice of heart- breaking prog balladry.

Armed with a more Genesisian aura is "L'Attesa", once again a cleverly orchestrated piece of dramatic prog, as only the Italians seem to mother with apparent ease. This piece has another heavy flurry of guitar magic, bass firmly grounded and the motors running turbocharged. The keyboard work again suffuses a myriad of ornamental detail that just elevates the lyrical disposition of the vocals. Abba even dares to pull off a classic Banks organ blast that can only make one smile.

Rambling and raging is the 9 minute "Il Fiume Sa", a searching voice passionately telling its fluid story, shoved along by illuminated synth runs and a stunning bass line, down low on the neck, a thing of beauty and persistence. Ferro once again conveys a series of incisive guitar bites and chomps that get the heart beating rather fast. All in all, including the delightful shorter interludes like the exquisite "La Coltre Viola", this is one hell of a discovery and another feather in the recent RPI cap.

Ancora, per favore!

4.5 billows

Despite a confusing album title and cover art that might make some curious purchasers think they're getting a space-rock album for their money, Nathan have delivered a wonderful debut album for lovers of symphonic Italian progressive music. Everything is in its right place, from hearty vocals and adventurous instrumental soloing passages performed by skilled musicians of great experience, but a constant uplifting and joyful mood with several big `wow' moments arrive that unexpectedly lift the album to another level altogether. It tells a futuristic tale of a population's migration in search of water in a world that has run dry of aquatic resources, the `Nebulosa' of the title a comet that leads the way to a new salvation.

Looking at some of the highlights, the first few tracks such as `Diluvio' and the title track set a template for much of the disc, melodic and vocal-driven accessible pieces with stirring and easy to enjoy repeated choruses, with carefully executed shorter bursts of keyboard and guitar soloing in and around the actual tunes. But it's `Resto Qui' that delivers the first extended instrumental passages of dazzling synth runs, fanciful piano, sly murmuring bass and grand reaching guitar themes around a dignified vocal, the closing finale bursting with energy and purpose. `La Coltre Viola' reveals the ravishing classical-flavoured piano fancy and whirring keyboard/Moog sophistication so beloved of endless Italian progressive works, and floating flute and a winning twin-guitar climax are the highlights of `A Ferro e Fuoco'. `Il Tempo dei Miracoli' holds a noble vocal chorus with lovely harmonies, plentiful slow-burn guitar embers and a grandiose symphonic close with a crashing beat, and the band simply outdoes themselves on the nine-minute `Il Fiume Sa'.

`Nebulosa' is not especially original or ground-breaking, but it's expertly delivered by a talented band and both vocally and instrumentally similar to the classic Seventies period of Le Orme. Lovers of the recent Logos album `L'enigma della Vita' will also find much to enjoy here, as well as fans of the chiming guitars of Marillion and pristine coolness of the English Neo-Prog bands in many moments. It gets Nathan's original career off to a great start, so hopefully the band will have the confidence and ambition towards their own welcome work and not just focus on cover version performances in the near future!

Four stars.