LA DANSA DE LES RATES

A Catalan group from Barcelona, found in 2001 with guitarist Albert Nardi, bassist Dani Fabre, drummer Guillem Roma and multi-instrumentalist Llibert Ribo as the original crew.The obcure name of the band propably is derived from the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, which is a great story to be read.The same year the group released indepedently its debut ''La dansa de les rates''.

The strong folky content of the album strengthens the possible origin of the band's name, as ''La dansa de les rates'' has an evident medieval flavor, always supported by the solid guitar work of Nardi.The music is led by the nostalgic flute work, the secure use of 12-string guitars and mandolin, all performed by Ribo, and the occasional electric bursts.Vocals come possibly in the Catalan language, but they come out a bit colorless and without any particular passion.The tracks' structures are based on the constant switches between Medieval-styled Folk Rock and guitar-driven Rock music, but these sound quite loose without a high deegree of coherence.The band tries to deliver some intense and moving themes of a folky nature, but the result is not really conveincing.The best parts of the album are definitely the nice textures created by the electric guitars and flute interplays, much in the vein of JETHRO TULL or Italian bands such as OSANNA or JUMBO.Ribo is credited also the use of organ, but the only keyboard sound I can detect is somekind of synthesizer in a couple of tracks.

The potential is certainly there.More tight ideas and a more balanced sound would definitely improve L' Herba d'Hameli's style.Still there are some chances this work could be deeply appreaciated by lovers of electric Prog Folk...2.5 stars.