Nuova
Divisione began life in 2009 in Avezzano, a town in the province of
L'Aquila, in an area called Marsica. After a still immature work
self-released in 2012, Once Upon a Time, in 2014 they
self-released an ambitious and more refined sophomore album titled
The Last Man In Europe, with a line up featuring Daniele Mari
(drums, percussion), Alessandro Rivolta (bass, synthesizers, piano,
vocals), Simone Salucci (piano, organ, synthesizers, Mellotron,
vocals) and Francesco Mezzoprete (guitars). Despite the Italian name,
the main influences of the band come from across the Channel and
range from The Beatles to Pink Floyd and Genesis. The result is an
interesting mix of psychedelia and progressive rock with a vast array
of vintage sounds and a strong leaning to melody. The Last Man In
Europe's music and lyrics (in English) tell of a man overwhelmed
by his ego while the artwork and a surreal short story (in Italian)
that you can find in the booklet try to help you to understand better
the subject matter: in fact, here images and words are like the
layers of a bad dream, just hanging memories that you can hardly
define in the morning...
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| art cover |
The
opener "Here's The Light" starts softly with a spacey,
mysterious atmosphere, then the rhythm rises and the story begins,
the story of a man who dared to challenge gods, fate and fears.
There's a beggar at your door and he looks like you... The following
"Have You Ever Wondered Why?" recalls Genesis and raises
some questions that could lead to an existential crisis, but beware!
The road is dangerous and you could run like hell into a wall just waiting for
the final cut... "Mind Your Steps" is a short instrumental
track that could recall EL&P with a pinch of Jethro Tull, the
tension is high but after a while the rhythm calms down...
"The
Contract" is a nice, light track that recalls The Beatles and
describes the deal with a mysterious character who can give you
anything you want: all you have to do is signing the contract with a
blood drop. Next comes "I Don't Care" that takes you to the
land of consumerism and egoism. You can go everywhere, so why not
having breakfast in America, for instance? No need of explanations,
time is worthless, there's no need to care about other people, now
your ego is the only religion... Then, on the melodic "If You
Want it" you can hear here, there and everywhere the singing
sirens of desire, the tempting sound of a pied piper and you let it
be...
"A
Creature Of Reality (a.k.a. The Egosystem)" begins by a marching
beat and drum rolls. You're losing control, you get lost in a
nightmare but there's no time for pain, the spirits all around you
are cold and you can see a shiny glow... Then comes the psychedelic
"Remember The Future" full of dark visions and obscure
omens and the mellow, yellow "Stop Your Mind" where
thoughts keep on swirling all around and your damned ego begins to
play bad tricks tearing you down. On "Here's The Night" the
mood is even darker while the nightmare gets worse and worse. You
gaze regretfully at the bloody contract while the walls around you
turn into mirrors reflecting your immeasurable ego...
The
long, complex suite "The Last Man In Europe" concludes the
album. It's divided into three parts (Abomination Of Desolation - It
Was A Fake Moustache - A Storm In A Teacup) and depicts a surreal
landscape. Your ego was so big that there was no room for anyone
else, now you're alone! You're the only inhabitant of a brand new
world, and you're feeling terribly sad and desperate... Is this
really what you call life?
On
the whole a good album, even if it doesn't shine for originality. All
the members of the band are still young but they're all skilled
musicians and I'm sure that they will do better in the future.
Anyway, have a try and judge by yourselves...
You
can listen to the complete album in streaming HERE
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