As they did with their last album 'Emotional Tattoos' which relaunched them at the end of 2017, the Italians of 'Premiata Forneria Marconi' ('PFM') are releasing a new album in two versions, one sung in English and the other in Italian : so it's up to you to find the one that suits you more, the Italian language bringing a warmer atmosphere for my part. There are prestigious guests with 'Ian Anderson', 'Steve Hackett' and 'Luca Zabbini' bringing their talent as a flutist, guitarist and keyboardist respectively..
On the menu of this new opus, 10 compositions for 40 minutes of listening and it is in a classical atmosphere in the style of 'Sergueï Prokofiev' that we are welcomed with 'Worlds Beyond' ('Mondi Paralleli') but which is quickly transformed into a tumultuous and catchy progressive instrumental in which all the artists bring their stone to the building, The final track is a complete break with the previous one, with a few piano notes serving as an introduction to the next track 'Adrenaline Oasis' ('Umani Alieni'), which begins as a gentle ballad but which takes on more momentum in a catchy second part. Let Go' ('Ombre Amichio') takes us back a few decades with a relaxing track, the heady chorus coming to charm you if you're a fan of Italian melodic lines, then, 'City Life' ('La Grande Corsa') is much more muscular with saturated guitar riffs in a more direct progressive rock. It continues with an alternation between softness and energy with 'If I Have Wings' (see video above) deploying a catchy melody that is sandwiched between two atmospheric sections, then, 'Electric Sheep' ('Pecore Elettriche') changes the mood again to a track with a driving rhythm with an energetic bass line, as does the following track 'Daily Heroes' ('Mr. Non Lo So') which mixes light pop and more muscular rock with some wild melody lines. Without transition, 'Kindred Souls' ('Il Respiro del Tempo') is a very original, catch-all track that fuses Celtic, Indian and 70's progressive influences and sees 'Ian Anderson' adding a folk edge with his familiar flute sounds and 'Steve Hackett' delivering some of his secret guitar sounds. The last two tracks, 'Transhumance' ('Transumanza') and 'Transhumance Jam' ('Transumanza Jam') are instrumentals that show all the know-how of this Italian band to deliver progressive music flirting with a more technical jazz-rock while keeping an entertaining character and which reminds me of the beautiful hours of 'Emerson, Lake & Palmer'.
In summary, the Italians of 'Premiata Forneria Marconi' release a new album very varied which continues to highlight the talant of this formation to deliver us an original progressive with multiple influences and 'I Dreamed of Electric Sheep' should figure prominently in the discotheque of any progressive fan... | |
