CONTINENTE PERDIDO

"Continente Perdido" is, in many ways, your typical South American symphonic prog album: richly melodic, very introspective and sometimes, very romantic, instilled with a peculiar sensibility in all places. The album can be described as a musical cohabitation between energetic instrumental interplaying and smooth singing parts. Regarding the former, Tellah sounds very related to early Camel, classic Yes and their compatriots Bacamarte. Regarding the latter, the band explores their melancholic side with a tighter approach to acoustic folk-oriented stuff and melodic pop-rock, although the progressive essence somewhat manages to stay firm "even in these quietest moments", so to speak. IMHO, the album's apex is comprised in the sequence of the first four numbers, which, as a whole, reflects the before description in its most solid expression. The enthusiastic guitar leads and the cohesive rhythm section are properly enhanced by the keyboards in both the catchy opener and 'Segmento' (the most complex piece in the album); meanwhile, the namesake title and 'Magma' beautifully combine the essential cadence of Camel-esque symphonic prog and the melodic candor of popular Brazilian Creole music. Unfortunately, the second half of the album (tracks 6 - 10) tends to concentrate excessively on the band's romantic side, a factor that drives the potential of progressive colors to unnecessary understatement. It is really a pity, since beautiful melodies such as the ones that make the nucleus of 'Triangolo' and 'Feixe de Luz' could and should have benefited from a more sophisticated labor on arrangements and thematic expansions. The last two tracks on the CD version are registered from the last gigs that Tellah ever did, back in '84. 'Cacador de Mim' and 'Visitante' (none of them penned by any Tellah member) show how the band intended to persist on the progressive road that they had already exposed on the album's most successful numbers. All in all, this is all that there is, and "Continente Perdido" remains an album that could have been excellent had their creators been a bit bolder. But let's go for the more positive side of things: this album must be appreciated as a beautiful musical work. As such, it will please all avid prog collectors with an undeterred love for melodic prog and art rock.