ROHMER

Rohmer and their eponymous debut album (their only one so far) are the items that now catch my attention as a PA reviewer. This Italian band is new but the members are not neophytes at all, since this is the very off-shoot of the defunct Italian 90s prog champion Finisterre. Rohmer comprises the ever-busy Fabio Zuffanti on bass plus two keyboardists long associated to him (Boris Valle on piano and organ, Agostino Macor on synths and mellotron) and drummer-percussionist Maurizio di Tollo (also on occasional guitar). In a few words, this is latter-days' Finisterre minus guitarist Stefano Marelli and drummer Marco Cavani with La Maschera Di Cera's drummer instead. Having two keyboardists on board who intertwine with their own personal styles to build melodic developments and effective layers, the guarantee for a rich sound is strongly there, but the Rohmer people augment their deliveries with the guest participations of several occasional guests on flute, sax, viola, trumpet: there is also a presence of vocal samples along the way, making the whole result sound eerie and enigmatic. Despite the abundant instrumentation, this is not a loud or pompous band, but it creates a powerful provision of eclectic sonorities where the relaxing cool jazz-rock of Zaal, the stylish psychedelia of "Meccanica"-era Finisterre and the ethereal post-rock of LaZona combine in a framework that also gives ample room to soft electronic ambient and new-age moods. Mostly dreamy and atmospheric, Rohmer finds a way to grow some energetic moments in a most subtle way among the dominant softer passages. 'Angolo 1' starts the album on an evocative note, very melancholic, until the guitar solo during the closing climax brings things to a different light. 'Ecran Magique' is a gente exercise on minimalistic ambient that mostly works as an interlude toward 'lhz', a lovely nu-jazz oriented piece where the guest sax and flute players add tasteful colors. I can describe this track as a hybrid of Zaal, 90s Wyatt and "Laughing Stock"-era Talk Talk. There is a moderate sense of tension in those moments when the piano and drum improvisations rush in as an anticipation of the coda built by piano, sax and mellotron. 'V. (Moda Reale)' is a brief piano-based ballad: the final flute solo provides a bucolic texture in an efficient manner. The title of 'Wittgenstein Mon Amour 2.12' makes a reference to the aphorism in the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" where the Austrian philosopher states that "the image is a model of the real world" (there was also a Wittgenstein mention in Finisterre's 3rd album): musically speaking, this track exhibits a warmth atmosphere. 'Cifra3' is a delicate elaboration of mysterious textures on pianos, bass, synth and glockenspiel, followed by a very dreamy 'Angolo Due': regarding the latter, I personally find the bass clarinet and cello interventions quite appealing as complementing aids for the featured piano melody. 'Metodiche di Salvezza' goes to similar places, yet with an accentuated lyricism that makes the whole sonic framework become softly surreal, almost like an oasis in a desert of serene loneliness. The album's last 22 minutes are occupied by 'Elimini-enne'. Its initial minimalistic layers bring a mixture of calmness and latent disturbance, with the sampled percussion beats bringing a mechanized mood and the trumpet drawing warm colors. This exercise in musical introspection lasts almost 10 minutes, and then things get much more solemn with a robust delivery of jazz, electronics and musique concrete (plus a female soliloquy). As things go on, they get a bit denser with the electronic factor disappearing in favor of a chamber-rock-like structure: the sonic framework is now intense and distant, quite cerebral indeed. The track's final section is a return to the original minimalistic approach, filling up all spaces like a dream that surrounds the listener's body and soul. This is the "Rohmer" experience from my point of view, this is why I regard Rohmer as an excellent jazz-prog ensemble.