Retro prog; Neo Italian prog
Latest release: Tra di Noi (2023)
Tra di Noi (2023)
Cinema Styge are one of many bands languishing in complete obscurity. In my era, these were the groups that might record a few pieces onto cassette and hand them to friends, family, and the six people in the audience that went to go see them at some dive bar (where some drunk would inevitably put something on the jukebox in the middle of the show).
Right from the beginning we hear organ, impassioned Italian vocals, hard guitar, mellotron, piano, and woodwinds. Plenty of start / stop moments. Oh... this is an Italian prog album alright.
Segueing nicely into the second piece, the music starts out in the grand tradition of adding a chugging hard rock element. These guys are doing everything the retro way. Italian narration and synth solos while they're at it. This track comes with a video and we can see they are enthusiastic young men. All of this takes me back to the late 1980s when progressive rock was being revitalized for the first time since the classic era.
Track 3 begins in mellow fashion with synthesizer in the lead. Recalls the 70s Midwest American scene, with Italian vocals of course. About two thirds through, it breaks out of ballad mode and goes into something like pop psych, similar to the earliest Italian bands. And then onto a jazzy sequence that's quite cool with mellotron (early Latte e Miele comes to mind here).
This is followed a short sound collage / percussion interlude. Tracks 5 through 7 could be seen as a suite, with a soft ballad sandwiched between two more traditional prog rock tracks. The finale wraps up their sound nicely with a mix of battle and love.
It's clear that Cinema Styge has a soft spot for the romantic element of the style, which is also true to many of the masters. Perhaps a bit more dynamism is required during these moments to give it the sit- up-on-the-edge-of-your-seat that makes Italian prog special.
There's no physical release for this album. Like Architrave Indipendente, this is ripe for a gatefold LP. The artwork they are using is perfect for that too.
---2/4/24
2/4/24 (new entry)
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