Detailed Reviews [Plurima Mundi - 2017 - "Percorsi"]

Prolusion. Italian band PLURIMA MUNDI first appeared some eight years ago when they released their initial EP "Atto I". In the years that have passed it would appear that the band have been through some changes, seeing that half of the band has been replaced since then. "Percorsi" is their full length debut album, and was self released in the spring of 2017.

Analysis. One may file this album under a few different labels. Symphonic progressive rock may be an option, albeit probably something of an outlier in that context, the art rock description would fit this band fairly well too, but most would probably opt for Italian progressive rock I guess. While those genre suggestions might not be all that revealing in themselves, it kind of reveals that this is a band hard to pinpoint to a specific subset in the realms of progressive rock. As one explores this album, there are many fine trace elements to hone in on. The piano in particular, that alternates between melodic wandering subservient motifs and more expressive backing that will shift towards either a classical music inspired or a more jazz-oriented mode of delivery depending on the need of the section in question. The drummer and bassist are more supportive than dominant and up front, while the guitarist are mainly given space and room for some flowing soloing runs, and will otherwise serve as the provider of a tighter, harder and more dramatic backdrop when needed. The star of the show here, so to speak, is violinist Monopoli. He delivers sharp violin attacks and flowing, gentler sound cascades with the same relative ease, and adds in a more mystic sounding mode of delivery when needed and appropriate too. Often but not always dominant, as the limelight is shared with vocalist Maremonti on all songs apart from the opening track, her strong and at times theatrical voice grabbing and demanding attention for all the passages where she has a role to play, so to speak. These parts combines into a variety of progressive rock that does have something of a vintage, art-oriented touch to it. One where elements and details from both classical music and jazz meet and blend inside a mostly rock-specific general context. Mostly, as some of the interludes will have more of a classical feel to them, and concluding epic Male Interiore (La Mia Eta) does play around a bit with jazz-tinged details, to the extent that the rock aspect of that composition doesn't come across as totally dominant in all places. I would describe L. ... Tu per Sempre as the key song on this album, not solely because a single edit of this cut is present on the CD, but also because this track strikes me as the most compelling one and the song that in my mind will have the broadest general appeal. Complete with hypnotic driving instrumentation and, in the long version, some rather alluring and tasteful mysterious sound landscapes explored an an interesting manner.

Conclusion. How much to say about an album and the music of a band will always be a key issue for any writer. In this case the key aspects of this album are fairy easy to identify however, despite this production being rather expressive. Vintage era progressive rock is the name of this particular game, in this case art rock with a liberal amount of impulses from classical music in particular and quite a few from jazz as well. Explored within a progressive rock context, with the violin as the key and dominant instrument. An album to seek out for those who find such a description to be intriguing.

Progmessor: November 28th 2017
The Rating Room