THE ARCHINAUTS

A new Italian Neo Prog band backed by Fabio Zuffanti and his music making machine. The music here sounds to me very much like a slightly more diverse IQ--especially due to the Peter Nicholls-like voice and style of male lead singer and principle composer, Ivan Santovito.

1. "Ouverture" (3:54) a gorgeous introductory song--with beautiful melodies coming almost passively from the keys with steadily strummed 12-string guitars and thick Mellotron strings. Sounds a lot like something from NOSOUND. After 90 seconds, Hammond organ and a couple of time stamped power chords from the rest of the band denote a transfer of power to the classically-oriented piano. At the three-minute mark some more RUSH-LE ORME-like power chords take us into a very RPI-like heavier version of the opening melody and motif until ... A great opener--and a top three song for me. (9/10)

2. "The Architect" (6:23) ? we bleed over into the next song. The funky sound palette here almost sounds like something out of early 1980s American Soul/R&B--PRINCE-like! But then it morphs into a heavier passage based on a repeating progression of power chords while keys and electric guitars solo a bit--until 2:10 when it suddenly settles into a sedate and steady, slow, PINK FLOYD-like four-chord progression over which the reverbed voice of Ivan Santovito makes its first appearance. The musical combination and palette has a lot in common with early IQ-- especially due to the timbre of Ivan's Peter Nicholls-like voice. After a brief piano solo in the fifth minute, we return to the main motif with Ivan singing, but now he's joined beautifully by the lilting voice of Ilenia Salvemini to back up and accent his own. Beautiful! (8.875/10)

3. "Mangialuce" (7:39) I like the diversity of the multiple motifs packaged into this one. It's quite symphonic (like the last song). But the dynamics might be a bit over the top in terms of bombast: sometimes feeling almost forced or more cerebral than heart-felt. Also, this is another song that very strongly brings up the feeling that I'm listening to something by the British NeoProg band IQ (especially in that first 90-second motif). The second motif is pure Steven Wilson (Hand.Cannot.Erase.) The third, for the first instrumental passage, sound like something straight out of 1972-3 Le Orme. Then, at 4:45, we're back in Steven Wilson's musicquarium with a tangent of some treated piano and reversed guitar. But then at 5:39 we burst back into the heavy land of reality with a RPI-RUSH-like bombastic passage over which Ivan tries (unsuccessfully) to match intensity with his voice before lead guitar takes over and takes us to the end. (13.25/15)

4. "The City and the Sky" (4:57) a song in which the main melody line feels as if directly lifted from one of STEVEN WILSON's Hand.Cannot.Erase. album. Even the instrumental and chordal palette of this motif feels SW. The second, alternate motif is pure RPI--as if coming straight from LE ORME's Felona e Sorona or LA MASCHERA DI CERA's Le Porte del Domini. (8.75/10)

5. "Lovers in the Dream" (5:59) back to the safety of IQ music (even feeling as if they're going back to the melody and chord structure of "The Architect"), piano and synth strings support Ivan's reverbed voice as he seems to repeat/carry forward the melody (and story?) of the album's second song, "The Architect." Yes he reaches for some higher heights during the more dynamic bursts of the chorus, but in truth, I feel as if I'm listening to a re-working of the main motif of that other song! Nice guitar play during the solo in the Steven Wilson-like instrumental passage. (8.75/10)

6. "The Mountain of Hope" (6:31) NeoRPI with tons of Mellotron, reverberated male vocal, and dynamic bursts for instrumental performances (including great Moog solo at the end). (8.875/10)

7. "Between the Light and the Stone" (14:37) very long, mellow, and slow-developing intro from piano, ARP "strings," taking two minutes just to break into full band for flute and vocalise from the lovely female voice of Ilenia Salvemini. At the very end of the third minute a new, rather sinister theme is introduced using a weird GOBLIN-esque synth sound buffered by airy flute. At 3:48 bass and drums finally break into a pattern that becomes that which the rest of the song is built over--with Ivan Santovito beginning his Peter Nicholls/Mariuz Duda-like singing almost immediately. The chorus section is nicely balanced with Ilenia injected as the second vocal. At 4:45 piano takes over carrying the melody forward a we enter into an instrumental passage within which flute flits and flourishes between RPI chord blasts. At 7:10 BRAINTICKET-like organ takes over the melody, all by itself, as Ivan and Ilenia sing in tandem, taking turns to continue telling the song's story. Organ continues as rest of band joins in, supporting some nice electric guitar soloing until the nine-minute mark when solo piano takes over, transferring the music to a jazzier foundation, over which the rest of the band join in loudly so that saxophone and Moog get some nice soloing in. I love this full buildup throughout the eleventh minute--especially as the sax and Moog duel--but then everything cuts out to leave a solo piano to provide a little classical interlude for about 45 seconds. Then we jump back into a full-band motif so that Ivan and Ilenia can continue delivering the story--this time with Ilenia serving solely as the harmony vocalist--and with piano being the definitive lead instrument in the bluesy-rock motif--which is perfect for the retro-guitar sound that bursts forth to deliver a powerful solo to the song's finish. A very enjoyable listening experience of a very satisfying and mature construction. Another top three song for me. (28/30)

Total Time 50:00

Very nice, melodic and engaging NeoProg songs that benefit also from great sound from great engineering and production.

B+/4.5 stars; a collection of excellent musical constructs forming a near-masterpiece of prog rock--one that seems to teeter over--or bridge--the span of "classic" Italian prog and modern NeoProg. Highly recommended for your own perusal and opinion-making.