Of course, not all of the promos we receive to write a review for contain the kind of music we like to play for our own personal pleasure. Sometimes they're even difficult to digest and take some more time to understand or to get into it. However, I always have to bear in mind that despite the fact that I don't like the music this doesn't mean that it's bad. It's just a matter of taste. A good example is the debut album recorded by Homunculus Res from Palermo, Italy. This outfit has been formed around the very talented musician Dario D'Alessandro. Besides writing most of the music, he's the main vocalist and guitarist and he also plays the keyboards and some percussion. The compositions on Limiti All'Eguagliazna Della Parte Con Il Tutto may be characterized as an uncommon mixture of the Canterbury scene of the seventies, progressive rock and Brazilian samba music. Well, this blend of musical styles you'll hardly ever hear, so you can't blame Homunculus Res for having lack of creativity or originality. In contemporary music only a few artists dare to go beyond the edges of a certain musical style. Therefore Dario D'Alessandro deserves a compliment for taking such a step, but that also applies to the record company that showed interest in this type of music by releasing it. The eighteen tracks on this album sometimes have not only rather weird titles, but they're quite short as well. The best way to more or less appreciate these tracks is listening to them as much as possible. Otherwise the problem may arise that this CD gets a low score and ends up somewhere in the attic. That's something this band doesn't deserve after all the hard work of writing and recording. I guess this also could have happened to artists like Frank Zappa, King Crimson and Gentle Giant if nobody had given them a fair chance. Apart from them the representatives of the typical Canterbury sound of acts like Soft Machine and Caravan can also be heard throughout. For fans of traditional progressive rock the songs that contain a MiniMoog and a Memotron, an instrument with the same choir, flute and violin sounds as the Mellotron, are the best sounding tracks. People who dare to look beyond the borders of progressive music, just like Dario D'Alessandro, are advised to check out Limiti All'Eguagliazna Della Parte Con Il Tutto. But please, play this album a couple of times in order to understand it and to get into the beauty of the music. This album is especially recommended to those who enjoy the Canterbury scene and artists like Frank Zappa, King Crimson and Gentle Giant. *** Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
