Nosound
is an Italian neo-prog band that has previously released 3 studio albums, Sol29 (2005), LightDark (2008) and A Sense
Of Loss (2009), thus making Afterthoughts
(released 21st May) studio album number four. After several reviews
for artists that I was relatively unaware of, I can safely say that Nosound is
a superb band and have featured on my radio show in the past. Having said that,
does album number four, Afterthoughts,
live up to the standard that I, and many others, have come to expect?
The
band comprises of 6/7 members, Giancarlo Erra (vocals, guitars, keyboards),
Marco Berni (keyboards, vocals), Alessandro Luci (bass, upright bass,
keyboards), Paulo Vigliarolo
(electric/acoustic guitars), Guilio Canepone (drums, percussion, noises), Chris
Maitland (drums) and Marianne DeChastelaine (cello), although Marianne doesn’t
seem to be a permanent member of the band, hence the starting comment of 6/7
members.
Afterthoughts is a
9 track album which has a total running time of around 51 minutes with track 4,
“The Anger Song” being the shortest track at 4:19 minutes and the penultimate
track, “Paralysed,” the longest at just over 8 minutes in length (8:08).
The
music of Nosound is certainly in an area of its own although it does have
tendrils that reach out into many different styles, including ethereal, flowing,
spacey (a la Pink Floyd), progressive, ambient, cinematic and even touching on
the psychedelic. This new album, Afterthoughts,
conjures up magnificent, almost sparse, soundscapes which build from a subdued
start into walls of sound before receding back into sparseness again. So
without continuing to tease the reader, what did this reviewer make of the new
album?
The
highlights from the album after several listens to the album are, “In My Fears,”
“Two Monkeys” and “Encounter,” although it was indeed a very hard choice to
decide between all the tracks.
The
opening track to Afterthoughts is “In
My Fears” (7:56) and sets the scene with a solo electric guitar gently
strumming, a somewhat familiar sound on Nosound albums. This is joined by a
guitar/keyboard effect that almost “whines” away around the strumming guitar
before the drum and bass feature just before the emotive vocals of Giancarlo
weave their way into the track. This gentle, almost ethereal, sound continues
and then slowly builds with soft piano and then the superb rounded sound of the
cello. The drums, bass and guitar continue to intensify, almost overpowering
Giancarlo’s vocals and then the track is stripped bare again leaving only the
sparse drums and cymbals which are then joined by that superb, haunting piano
melody before Giancarlo reappears with the vocals. The track settles back into
the initial motif with the instruments again intensifying the sound, and the
cello reappears, yet again threatening to completely mask the vocals but they
rise over the music. This more intense feel to the track takes the opening
track out. A stunning and very atmospheric start to the album, and sets the
listener up for a musical voyage through the remaining eight tracks.
Track
3, “Two Monkeys” (5:44) has some superbly played beautiful piano, backed by the
softest of bass notes and a guitar which soars over everything else. The drums
add to the atmosphere before the vocals, emotion drenched, appear and tell the
story of the two monkeys. This track simply drips with emotion, from the
instrumentation to the vocals, it is a stunning piece of work, gently changing
direction and easing the listener along. Around the 4:30 minute mark there is a
terrific passage which takes the track to its finale. It seems to be finished much
quicker than its 5:44 minutes, so enveloped do you become in the track that all
sense of time simply disappears.
“Encounter”
(4:53) enters the fray with a gentle, almost meandering piano passage, soon
joined by crisp but unobtrusive drumming and floating guitar chords. The superb
cello enters and is soon joined by Giancarlo’s vocals, forming an amazingly
atmospheric track. The keyboards form a sort of “surround sound” to the track,
wrapping everything else in. This must be the ultimate emotion soundscape on
the album, with that melancholic cello so stunningly fusing with the vocals and
painting the almost perfect aural experience.
You
will gather that this reviewer was well impressed with Afterthoughts, but it does take a few plays before you realize that
you are listening to a simply stunning album. I have heard Nosound being
described as minimalist but this is far from being correct as the band of
musicians move effortlessly between sparseness to walls of sound and back. Set
aside the 50 minutes required to hear this album from start to finish and
immerse yourself in an experience. I think that it almost goes without saying
that this album, Afterthoughts, gets
the special “One To Buy” sticker on the front, and indeed also gets a “This
Experience Will Last Forever” sticker just below it.
5/5 Stars
Key
Tracks: In My Fears, Two Monkeys, Encounters
Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-MuzikReviews.com Staff
May 9, 2013
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