Alcantara

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Oct 21 09:45:23 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит Alcantara/(2019)_Solitaire

Новое имя - молодая итальянская, сицилийская прогрессив-рок-банда, их дебютный диск.
Хотите послушать итальянскую, но совершенно-не-итальянскую группу? Ну, вот - послушайте!
ПИНК ФЛОЙД. Точка. Пинк Флойд времён Стены и Файнал Ката.
Нет, они не копируют, у них всё своё. Но вот слышно, громко, ясно и однозначно.
Поют, кстати, по-английски.
ВЕСЬМА ВЕСЬМА ВЕСЬМА РЕКОМЕНДУЮ!!

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(c) Alcantara biography, PA
founded in Catania, Italy

ALCANTARA is a psychedelic prog unit hailing from Sicily, South Italy. The band's debut 'Solitaire' (2019) is comprised of eight melodic and atmospheric ballads respectively rock songs. A recommendable concept album exploring the meaning of resistance in liquid modern times. Нereby they are drawing some inspirations from Pink Floyd, hints of Airbag, RPWL and similar are present within the sound too.
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Solitaire
Alcantara
Psychedelic/Space Rock, 2019
(c) Review by David Luddington, PA

Solitaire by new band, Alcantara, is one of the finds of the year. I have a bad habit of collecting far too may prog albums and often a lot just meld into a pool of, 'Nice to listen to'' but with nothing to catch me enough for repeated listens. This one however, keeps insisting on being played over and over. This is beautifully constructed prog where every instrument is given space to breathe, the antithesis of much Prog, especially from America, where the idea seems to be that every instrument should be more forward than every other instrument. The guitar here is particularly notable, where every note is perfectly chosen and clearly heard. Very reminiscent of David Gilmour. The vocals at times, especially on Bad Bones, remind me of Jan-Нenrik Ohme from Gazpacho or Bruce Soord from Pineapple Thief. Overall, this should appeal to fans of Pink Floyd, Airbag, Riverside, Satellite, etc. It is very similar to another band I really loved but only made on album, and that was Grendel with The Нelpless. I do hope these guys keep this up
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Solitaire
Alcantara
Psychedelic/Space Rock, 2019
(c) Review by Steve Conrad, PA

Canary in the coal mine:

Elegy
'Elegy (which may be traced to the Greek word elegos, 'song of mourning') commonly refers to a song or poem lamenting one who is dead; the word may also refer somewhat figuratively to a nostalgic poem, or to a kind of musical composition.'-Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

When handsome, vibrant, talented young musicians invest themselves with whole-hearted passion, in crying out for the right to LIVE freely, wholly, without fear of despots, environmental ruin, and spiritual degradation- then we are witness to the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

Solitaire
This debut album, released April 2019 by Alc'ntara- a progressive/psychedelic quintet from Catania, Italy- figuratively fleshes out the life-and-death songs of those canaries, many of which were fated to die if they encountered lethal fumes.

They lived and they died to warn others of danger.

Solitaire, part 2
Solitaire is of course a game, played alone, with the cards that are dealt.
It can also denote gems set singly, and to my surprise can refer to several types of thrushes, and now-extinct large flightless birds.
This elegiac conceptual album seems meditative, deliberate, and melancholy- the laments, the rage, the agony, and the hopes are all quiet, muffled, and muted.

Resistance
Band members explain that the concept driving Solitaire is resistance. The music, the lyrics, the effects chosen (often spoken words, or sounds of children, or water flowing) all cohere and interact to address the mortal danger, and the way the sensitive person can and must respond.

The Piggy Person
This revolting, riveting image portrays the heedless, self-absorbed, mindless consumer, the one with spaghetti stuffed into one's orifice and dangling from one's greedy fingers.
It's an image of destruction, of hiding oneself from reality, refusing to see what IS, focused solely on selfish pleasure, gorging while the world burns.

The music
In contrast, the music is deliberate, sometimes gently dissonant- as when a solo guitar picks a delicately jangling chord, and sometimes soaring. At times there are massive walls of keyboards- the Нammond organ and mellotron and synthesizer, students perhaps of Pink Floyd, as we hear the Stratocaster slashing and soaring and singing over the sustained keyboards.
Artfully interwoven effects Within the framework of these at times quiet, gentle passages along with the majestic keyboard-driven ones, there are interwoven snippets of sermons/diatribes/warnings/dirges.
These are in the background, and if carefully tracked add an edge to the menace, the sense of desperation, and the urgency of the message in the concept here.
The labored breathing that opens the album, the eerie, nightmarish sounds give way to electric piano and the vocal reverie: 'Oh, what is love? What is love''

The natural world
We hear bird songs, flowing water, children at play, people going about their lives. Lyrics address the cosmos, the vastness of the universe/multiverse, the ocean.
'The solitary man is blessed', we hear in 'Bad Bones'. Yet, 'We are tired to be alone.'
All the while we are rocked, lulled, stabbed, and quietly shocked by the at times melancholy sounds, or the elegiac passages.
''As if we deserve to be loved''
As if we deserve to be loved There is a note, a touch, a motif of grace and of love and of faith- despite a strong repudiation of organized religions ('Faith')- most clearly heard in the final two tracks of this album.
'The Resistance' opens with ominous sustained chord sounds, with spoken words denouncing violence, human greed, and xenophobia/isolationism.
The melancholic lyrics challenge us to choose to be alive, to fully BE.

Seasons
In the closing track- gentle, mournful, reflective- the song builds into the majestic, elegiac, unhurried climax, that then fades'
And we hear a single indigenous, tribal singer. What is he saying? It evokes the dancing native in wonder and in harmony with life, the sound of chimes or bells, and fading out to stillness.

Two caveats
This is a thoughtful, well-reasoned work of art.
I do suggest to those non-native English speakers who choose to write and sing in that language, to consult with a native English speaker/writer. For me, sometimes these lyrics didn't all make sense, powerful as they are, and as much as I wanted to fully grasp their meanings.
Secondly, the pace and timing of the album was mostly slow, reflective, and deliberate. I wished sometimes for more passion, more energy, some changes of pace.

In conclusion
Well worth your time and your money in support of this talented young group of 'canaries in the coal mine.'
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido