Short Reviews [Mesmerising - 2020 - "The Clutters Storyteller"]

As is often the case these days, Memerising is a band I discovered through Facebook, as myself and Davide Moscato were talking, and he sent me this, the latest album. Moscato provides all the songs and vocals, along with some keyboards on a couple of tracks, and on this release he brought in producer Fabio Zuffanti (ex-Finisterre, Hostsonaten, La Maschera di Cera) to provide bass, while the rest of the band all have a history with Zuffanti. Both drummer Paolo Tixi and keyboard player Giovanni Pastorino appeared on his latest solo album, while together with Martin Grice (flute, sax) they were members of Z Band and they all worked together on the live studio album from 2014, while guitarist Simone Amodeo also started his career working with Zuffanti. This means that Moscato is walking into an already existing band who are relaxed working with each other, and know what the producer expects of them, which means the opportunities are there for a really good album, which is what we get. While the musicians are all well-known in the Italian scene, this is not their album, it is Moscato’s, and they work together to ensure he is always front and centre. I have not heard the other two albums from Mesmerising, and wonders how much impact these musicians have had, as none of them played on the last one, 2017’s ‘Mental Maze’, yet given what I know of the other bands they have been involved with, this is both similar but very different indeed. Moscato has created an atmosphere so that it feels very much like a full band with him as singer as opposed to a musician with hired guns, so there is plenty of room for solos, with keyboards, flute and guitar all being given the opportunity to shine. At times it is almost neo prog, yet with an Italian sensibility about it, and always a great deal of space. It is a light album with some psychedelic tendencies, often caused by the use of traditional keyboard sounds. I absolutely love his voice, which has an accent which I could see off putting to some, but for me it provides the right edge to really cut through the layering. The rhythm section is generally sat way in the back, so much so that one does not really realise they are creating such a strong foundation for a wonderful series of songs. The flute and sax are both used incredibly effectively, coming in for certain sections only, while the strong use of piano is incredibly powerful, and Amodeo resists the urge to over play and indeed can be absent for large periods of time. A really enjoyable and fresh album which contains lots of different progressive styles, yet always feels like a band and is guaranteed to may any proghead smile and take notice.