ROUND MIDNIGHT

After hearing their excellent last album A Vulgar Display Of Prog, I was curious enough about this italian band to look for their previous CDs, even if I was feeling I maybe would not get ´more of the same´. Bingo! Round Midnight is their fourth release and differs quite from A Vulgar... The operner Round Midnight is a terrific mid-paced prog song, with great guitars, lush keyboards and very emotional vocals. But from then on the music turns to be more like the sohpisticated alternative pop of bands that followed Radiohead and Coldplay´s way. I found the vocals specially annoying (there is only one Thom Yorke. And that´s enough!). The title track was really an exception. Not that the CD does not have some very good moments (and lots of mellotron). But I guess those whining vocals do get in the way too much. From the second track onwards the quality stays the same (good, if you like a more progressive version of Radiohead). Excellent production and excellent perfomances. But I really liked A Vulgar Display Of Prog a lot more. In hindsight it seems very good that they took that path.

Rating: good, but hardly essential in any way. 3 stars.