Laviàntica
come from Rome and their origins date back to the late eighties when
was formed Alterego, a band influenced by the neo progressive sounds
of Marillion, Twelfth Night, IQ, Pendragon, Ezra Winston and
Leviathan. Later the band changed the original name into Laviàntica
(which, according to their website, is a contraction of the words "La
Via Antica" that can be translated as "The Old Way") to
underline their choice to play in a retro style. Anyway, it
wasn't until 2013 that the band, after many years of hard work and
various problems, managed to self-release a full length debut album
with a consolidated line up featuring Marco Palma (electric guitar),
Paolo Perilli (bass, vocals), Luciano Stendardi (piano, keyboards),
Paolo Musolino (keyboards, acoustic guitar, vocals) and Andrea
Schiappelli (drums). During the recording sessions they were helped
by some guest musicians such as Alice Pelle (vocals), Andrea
Bongiovanni (drums) and Laura Senatore (violin) who contributed to
enrich the sound and the result is a nice, introspective concept
album about the relativity of time entitled Clessidra
(Hourglass). The band's melodic vein tends to prevail upon an overtly
challenging, adventurous musical approach, but this is not a cheesy
album and lovers of neo prog bands from the eighties will undoubtedly
appreciate it.
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The
opener is the short instrumental "Intro" that sets the
atmosphere. The mood is dreamy and the music conjures up a peaceful
springtime landscape... "Nel vento" (In the wind) describes
in music and words a day stolen from the daily grind and spent in the
country. There's an open field covered with dancing flowers and
colourful butterflies flying all around. Your hands lightly touch the
grass, you can hear the sound of the shaking leaves of a near tree
and breathe fresh air. Suddenly you begin to move your hands, maybe
you're dreaming to fly, you're taking off... Live and never stop!
Next
comes "Sole" (Sun) where the rhythm rises and the music
flows with a flapping of wings. The soaring vocals warn you that the
horizon is just an illusion and that you have to follow your inner
light. A free man is ageless, everyone has a leading soul and a
different fate... Then the sound of thunders and pouring rain
introduce the following "La pioggia" (The rain), where the
music and lyrics invite you to think about the secret messages that
the rain can write carving the rock, drop after drop for millennia.
From above you can see shining shadows moving in the puddles along
the streets, there are people invoking the rain and others fearing
its force but who can really understand what the rain has to say?
Then
comes the melodic, dreaming "Finché il giorno non finisce"
(Until the end of the day) where the music and lyrics invite you to
savour every single moment of the day, every instant of your life.
Now you can relax and look at a wonderful landscape from a lookout on
the seashore but Time is always on the run and it never comes back,
your thoughts and feelings soon will become just memories... The
following "Icaro" (Icarus) is another nice ballad that
celebrates the freedom to fly high toward the sun running after your
dreams. Even if you know that you have to come back, for a free heart
the desire to fly can never fade...
On
"Tempo" (Time) the atmosphere becomes a bit darker. Your
beautiful day is coming to an end. Make use of your time because life
is short, so try to gather speed and run after your time... Carpe
diem! The following "Clessidra" (Hourglass) is light
and melancholic. The wheel of time is still in spin, there are
shadows and dust clouds running down a metaphorical hourglass in the
sky. A night train takes you home but the evening breeze is still
carrying thoughts and smells waiting for the moonshine that will
reflect them. The long, complex instrumental "Laviantica"
(The old way) concludes the album with a solemn pace and a strange
atmosphere filled with dreams and memories.
All in all, this is a really good work that deserves some attention. Have a try and judge by yourselves: you can listen to the complete album HERE. By the way, the download version is slightly different from the CD, without the intro and the sounds that bind all the single tracks together... If you buy the physical copy you'll get both!
Laviàntica:
Clessidra (2013). Other opinions:
Steven
Reid: For some this album's resistance to stepping up the pace
will result in gentle disengagement, but dig below the surface of the
(ironically) mid-paced "Tempo", or the long meander of the
song from which this band take their name and a real depth and
substance can be found, with violins taking up themes and vocals
often twisting and turning ideas into new outlooks. It may be a bit
depressing that a band whose ideals are firmly stuck in the eighties,
can now be seen as traversing the "old ways", but if it
results in music as engaging as this, then I don't mind admitting
that I must be an old foggie... (read the complete review HERE)
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