ANIME INVISIBILI

Formed in 2017 in the Pisa region of Italy, ALICANTE is quite different than the usual Italian prog standard in that while it looks to the classic years of prog to derive its influences, it didn't look to PFM, Banco, Le Orme or even Area but rather has engaged in a form of instrumental prog that borrows more from the classic sounds of Genesis, Camel, Yes and the neo-prog scene of the 80s. Part of this stems from the fact that two of the band members: Alfonso Capasso (bass, effects) and Jacopo Giusti (drums, percussion) emerged from the Italian neo-prog band Egobrand that cranked out albums from 1991 all the way to 2016 just before ALICANTE was formed. So far this band has unleashed four albums and returns in 2024 with its latest ANIME INVISIBILI.


Basically this album is one long suite that divided into four movements all delivered through the traditional prog rock instruments of the acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, bass drums along with some extra sounds courtesy of a bassoon and even a didgeridoo. Unfortunately the percussion is delivered with electronic drums and even though the tones and timbres of the percussion sound legit, the actually drumming sounds a bit canned for my tastes as there are no "let loose" moments for the drummer. The opening "Sopravvissuti / Survivors" opens strongly with a creeping keyboard and distant vocals covered in static with a very neo-prog sort of tension builder. As string pluck their way into existence the track finally breaks free into rock mode and then unleashes a series of keyboard sounds resembling a theremin reminding a bit of some Rick Wakeman's solo output. The track delivers some nice twists and turns with more energetic key passages evoking and guitar work on the heavier side of rock.

The middle two tracks are bit less convincing though as the drumming begins to sound less convincing and the melodies aren't quite as strong. In other words it begins to sound more like generic prog, perhaps something of a B-grade take on those phenomenal symphonic prog releases by the Colossus Project. It's about this time the need for a talented vocalist becomes apparent as it sound more like karaoke night awaiting a charismatic singer to jump up from the audience to take the mic and blow away the crowd but alas our hero in shining armor never seems to crash the party. The longest track on board the closing "Nuit dans le désert / Night in the Desert" offers more dramatic moments on par with the first track and serves as the epic closer with a 15 1/2 minute run and a series of "soft" prog motifs that allow gentle breezy guitar sweeps and dominant keyboard runs to punctuate the tracks epic sprawl. Once again the track is diminished by the rather lackluster percussion and the over reliance on the same recurring keyboard sounds that dominate the album.

In many ways ALICANTE crafts a memorable album as the style is distinct from other prog bands of past or present yet somehow doesn't satisfy on either front. On the retro side the album is populated by too many artificial sounding moments mostly notably in the percussion department but also in some of the tones of the keys. As for a modern album the band doesn't really go far enough in integrating past and present and at certain moments i just find myself going "why didn't you do THAT?!!!" A decent album that will please lovers of slow, easy listening instrumental prog but for my ears this one comes off as a bit lackluster on my fronts: songwriting, instrumentation (and use thereof), differentials between dynamics and it's just playing too safe for its own good. None of the members really display any particular virtuosity except on rare occasions where the keyboardist shows he can engage in some nice workouts but often the album dips into a proggy form of slowcore. It just seems a bit imbalanced. Nice but not top notch Italian prog.