Retro prog; Jazz rock; Neo Italian prog
Latest: Ur (2021)
AdC (2014)
Accordo dei Contrari's third opus, simply titled AdC, is yet another fine heavy instrumental album. The musicianship is top notch, and the analog sounds are perfectly pitched. Their loud acid guitar and grungy organ tones are tough to beat. However, I feel the band took a bit of a step back on this one. The songwriting isn't overly compelling, and memorable melodies are almost non-existent. And there's little development within each track, and it seems the band is out to impress rather than engage. Fans of mid 1970s fusion will find the most here to enjoy. Perhaps we're spoiled in this day and age where an album as accomplished as AdC is - and it clearly is accomplished - isn't still enough to satisfy. I think for the band to raise it to the next level, they'll need to rip a page from the classic early 70s Italian progressive rock manual. Recommended - of course - but I think they can do better.
---8/21/14
Kublai (2011)
In some ways, Accordo dei Contrari are the polar opposite of the Sithonia album we spoke about on this blog. The instrumentation, execution, and overall crispness are absolutely top-notch. Thematic development and melodic longevity, well... perhaps not their strong suit. So in that way, I rate them the same, though I can assure you that Accordo dei Contrari are far more palatable on initial impact. I would have to plea before the court as to why Sithonia are excellent, whereas all I have to do here is press "play" and watch the listener's jaw drop at the musical prowess. That's not to say that Accordo dei Contrari are a cold, soulless band. Quite to the contrary (as their name suggests). The psychedelic exotic fusion of 'Arabesque' alone is enough to sell me on this album. As if Agitation Free went on a Mahavishnu Orchestra binge. Say that last sentence again, perhaps slowly. I'm all in. I think this is where the Area comparisons come in. They're meant as flattery, but not sure I see the correlation. Anyway, instrumental progressive rock / fusion - I could listen to this kind of stuff all day.
---7/25/11
Kinesis (2007)
Starting with a sound straight out of the early Mahavishnu Orchestra playbook, Accordo dei Contrari waste no time in establishing their heavy instrumental fusion sound. In fact, I was immediately reminded of DFA, another A-list progressive rock group from Italy. All the tracks feature counterpoint in an instrumental setting. They catch a groove, rock hard - change meters, and rock hard again. If I had a complaint, it's that the album as a whole has a certain sameness to it. While I adored the first few tracks, I found my mind wandering as the album continued. Perhaps had I started in the middle, I would feel stronger for the latter tracks. I need to do that actually. Point being, it's this monolithic nature that keeps the album from being a stone classic. A minor complaint, because no doubt this is a fantastic album overall. Recommended to all European instrumental rock fans. Or what we used to call "Euro Rock", still quite possibly my favorite sub-genre of the progressive rock spectrum.
---2008
7/25/11 (new entry)
This is one of the best modern progressive albums I purchased the last 5 years.
ReplyDelete