Italian band Aether started out back in 2021, initially to help out bassist Andrea Grumelli with a project but following this the musicians decided to continue as a band. Aether is a band that mixes Progressive Rock, Jazz and Ambient, merging the musical spectrum with a melodic approach Trans-Neptunian Objects is inspired by science fiction and space travel. I would describe this album as fusion meets psychedelic. The music swirls and weaves much like one would image space travel to be, at times weightless and floating, at other times grounded and structured. The album opens with Sidus (prelude) featuring keyboardist Andrea Serino and aforementioned bassist Grumelli in a brief smooth jazz journey through a theme which will re-emerge and be expanded upon on the closing track of the album. Neptune opens with a flourish from drummer Teo Ravelli. The track also features a couple of tasteful guitar solos from Andrea Ferrari. Magrathea starts out as a moody piece with an ambient style backdrop which eventually gives way to the full band driving the piece along and leading right into Saturn which merges the ambients with electric piano and guitar stylings in a classic jazz fusion style but with a truly unique backing. Ephemeris opens on an electric piano pattern, bringing to mind Gentle Giant, and then the track shifts into what I would call Soft Machine territory. While this is probably the most "progressive rock" of the tracks on the album, it suffers from meandering along while not really going anywhere. The next track, Pale Blue Dot, continues down the path of electric piano over ambients and bass guitar. Amalthea is a very accessible jazz fusion track that really showcases the individual talents of the band members. The final track is the epic Sidus which opens with some very environmental guitar stylings and then shifts to bass and electric piano, bringing to mind classic Mingus. A guitar solo from Ferrari shows just how could a player he is, weaving around the accompaniment with dexterity and flash without overpowering. The track then slides unto a spacey ambient section which then gives way to a simple electric piano and bass section before the powerful closing section which actually has elements that would be at home on early 70's King Crimson albums. Over all this is a very well produced and well executed album. Fans of jazz fusion will find a lot to love here. The one draw back that I found was that many of the tracks didn't really have a direction, and while the playing was great, the track composition just left you feeling like you hadn't gotten anywhere. ***+ David Carswell Where to buy? |
