Member:
Under A Glass Moon
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by Under A Glass Moon)
Date:
5/11/2002
Format:
CD (Album)
PSYCOPHONIC OBLIQUE ROCK
This is the moniker that the Italian Prog Trio, StereoKimono, has given to their own unique blend of music and I think it is pretty fitting considering that their music is very difficult to pin down to one specific genre.
Ki released in 2000 is the debut effort from the band, but they have actually been together since the late 80’s. The trio consists of:
Cristina Atzori: drums, percussion
Antonio Severi: el/ac/midi guitars, keyboards
Alex Vittorio: bass, keyboards
This being my first real exposure to Italian Prog, I am thoroughly impressed and can’t wait to discover more. The music on Ki, ebbs and flows through so many different types of styles and the band never misses a beat. From space rock, to fusion, to jazz, to blues, to psych and then back again the music always has something new to offer and the listener will never be bored. With so many changes it may seem that StereoKimono might lose some punch in spots, but I can’t find any of those spots. They evoke a very modern and fresh sound while still paying homage to the past, a very difficult feat but they mange to pull it off.
I could go into a song by song description but I feel that would make this review way too long so here’s a few highlights:
"Eh! Ah!" is the album opener and really introduces the band's intentions of what their music is all about. Changes! The song opens with a dripping faucet sound effect and breaks nicely into a funky jazz groove highlighted by an Andy Summersish guitar by Severi. A very spacey keyboard then breaks in and the guitar changes to almost a slow Frippish sound. The song continues to grow heavier and darker until some light airy keyboards change everything again. The band then gets into a pleasant slow jazzy interlude until the song breaks back to the opening sound. This all in a span of just under five minutes.
"Phileas Fogg" is the album’s third track, the longest at 11:11, and my favorite. This song encompasses all the band has to offer. It opens in a similar vein to "Xanadu" by Rush, and segues to an almost Primus type bass with space keys in the background. The 'chorus' of the instrumental then breaks in and the band changes around this 'chorus' throughout the song. As far as the band’s own description of the song it goes something like this, “Dedicated to all terrestrial ‘travellers’, intergalactics and psychonautic explorers of infinite inner dimensions. Verne’s character did his round in 80 days, we try it in 11 minutes.”
One other track on the album that provides a bit of comedy is called "Concerto No. 1 For Piano and Stool". This is just a piano and a really out of tune violin mimicking a squeaky piano stool that the player is sitting on. It makes for a smile but its a good thing its only 58 seconds long.
If you're looking for some fairly new Italian Prog with a distinctive sound and style, then this is a must have for any music fan. And if you've never been exposed to the Italian side of prog this is a great place to start. While constantly changing styles, the band still manages to give every song structure and listener hooks. This is a very appealing feature to me. StereoKimono has definitely cornered the market on Psychophonic Oblique Rock. Check it out!
Dave
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