THE GAP

What? Just two reviews up until now? Let´s fix it. It seems incredible that it took whole 18 years for swiss neo proggers Clepsydra to release am album of new material. Ok, since I have known this band only after 2008, and had four excellent albums to discover, it seemed a little shorter period. Still, it was a long wait. But fortunately most of the band is back: only guitarist Luigi Biamino is a real new face here (bassist Nicola De Vita is not an original member, but played on their 2001 release Alone). So I was quite hopeful about what they had to offer after all this time. I also feared something completely different or uncharacteristically to their trademark sound. You know, with Clepsydra you either love them or hate them. Their style was very unique, specially Aluisio Maggini vocals. And I really love their previous CDs.

So what The Gap (insightful name, very fitting, by the way!) has to offer? Like the new Pendragon CD, the brilliant Love Over Fear, at first it seemed very different, with a few bars using heavy guitar licks. Did they fell prey of the siren call of the prog metal genre? Well, like Pendragon´s newest CD, it only took a few seconds to discover that Clepsydra´s new offering is very much their very own sound, spiced up with some novelties here and there, but nothing that deviates much from what we would expect from this great band. In fact, I was stunned that they sound so tight and inspired after such a long absence.

To me this album sounds like a long suite rather than a collection of songs, and this is a compliment. There are many mood and tempo swings, but mostly it is very fluid and of great quality. If you have listened to their earlier stuff and liked them chances are you´ll probably take some time to adjust to The Gap, as I did. The new tunes are not as accessible as material from Fears or, more to the point, More Grains Of Sand (1994). However, if you persist, you´ll be rewarded with a very fine record that is constantly being played at home and in my car (this CD is absolutely great to hear while you´re driving). Fine, I´ll concede that this is not really their best (Alone carries this honour), and a few brief moments are not as sharp as the rest, but those moments are few and far between and they never spoil the best qualities of the songs they´re on. So we have am excellent album that I always listen from beginning to end without skipping a single track (or any part of the long suite, as I like to think of them). With an excellent production and impeccable performances, we can only forgive the band for the long waiting: it was worth it. We just hope it won´t be that long for a follow up!

Conclusion: a very fine album, with just what I wanted from them: great melodies, emotional guitar solos and vocals, fine songwriting. Definitely, The Gap is on my top five list of the year. Welcome back, guys!