The
Former Life is an Italian prog band from Vittorio Veneto that was
formed in 2008 on the initiative of Andrea De Nardi and Matteo
Ballarin who had previously collaborated in other bands and projects.
According to the official website, the band was named after an
imaginary life that the musicians dreamed to have experienced in the
era of the giants of rock and was meant as a metaphor to express
the shadow of our past and its merging with today’s shadows – a
thin thread keeping us tied to what seems to be past and gone, and
yet inevitably needs to be recalled, being the only key to access a
“latter life” (a life change). Their sources of inspiration
range from Pink Floyd to classical music and jazz but the final
result is not too derivative and the song-writing is rather good. In
2011 they self released an interesting debut album, “Electric
Stillness”, with a line up featuring along with Andrea De Nardi
(vocals, piano, organ, keyboards) and Matteo Ballarin (vocals,
guitars) two guest musicians, Edoardo Papes (drums, percussion) and
Giovanni Scarabel (bass). Later the line up was completed by drummer
Manuel Smaniotto and bassist Carlo Scalet for the live activity that
followed the release of the album.
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| The Former Life |
According
to the band, “Electric Stillness” was conceived as a conceptual
work about the abandonment of an unwanted former life (or
experience) and the growing desire for change and rebirth, symbolized
by a beautiful jewel which “sunders” into two halves. In the
booklet there's a short poem that in some way sets the atmosphere, a
foreword to the music you're going to listen to... “The
brightest awakening comes after the longest sleep, as the suspended
chord resolves to the perfect triad... Few notes of
recollection can be played but sometimes you find the right key to
playback... yourself / That’s like regaining the memory of your
former life...”.
The
opener “Sundering Jewel” begins with an amazing, dreamy prelude
for piano solo that recalls slightly Le Orme's album Florian. Then
the other instruments come in and the music takes off taking you away
from the Venetian lagoon, towards an obscure moon... “We’re
doomed to stay apart and to play the dark songs of elsewhere / Should
this remind us of a former life, we’ll escape, like we’ve never
escaped / Nor we’ll obey their rules...”.
You
can walk on the moon on the notes of the following “Hijacked”, an
evocative instrumental track that leads to the spacey “Belong To
The Stars”, a long piece blending dreamy melodic lines and dark
passages, hazy memories and fading nightmares... “I’m a pilgrim
in search of no land / Betrayed by oblivion and fear / Fuddled,
brainwashed, wrecked and bound to be here...”. The melancholic
“MesmerEyes” takes you back to earth, where love is nothing but
hate in disguise and where you have to bear the burden of your
mistakes. Now you have to seek for a place to start back, forgetting
the past and its long shade of guilt.
“London
Rain” is a beautiful track divided into three parts. It's about the
madness of men who forget too easily the errors of the past and turn
they faces away from the blood of the innocent victims of violence.
The mood is dark, there's a sense of impending tragedy, a bomb is
going to explode. If you can absorb a disgrace as if it were rain
you're probably insane... “There is still a huge ravine between you
and how you should be, man...”.
“A
Milligram Of Joy” begins with an electric guitar solo that shines
in the dark like a crazy diamond. There's a strong sense of
nostalgia, you're looking for your past but you can't find it, you're
wondering where your days have gone but there's no way to have them
back... “What have they done with my stolen days? / You know your
enemies are altering the game / But will you, will you let the wind
erase another trace? / There ain't no angel to save us strangers /
Now that I twist and burn inside / Now that I want back my milligram
of joy...”.
The
conclusive title track “Electric Stillness” closes the circle and
brings you back to your dream, to the stage of a long gone shadow
play... “Voices then came to whisper me of a latter life / I felt
their wide wings caress my illusions / While calling me across the
outermost boundary / I saw a sundering jewel, high above us / And we
strove hard to reach it / But at the top of those white marble stairs
/ I was left alone, and shown the root of all my inborn weakness /
Electric stillness reigned...”.
Well,
on the whole I think that this is a very good album. By the way,
“Electric Stillness was re-released in 2012 with a bonus track.
Have a try!
You can listen in streaming to the complete album HERE
The
Former Life: Electric Stillness (2011). Other opinions:
Raffaella
Benvenuto-Berry: Electric Stillness is the result of years of
work on the part of two artists who, in spite of their young age,
have already had extensive experience on the music scene. The care
and dedication behind the album are evident right from its visual
presentation, with an elegant, vaguely Impressionist cover that
reflects the understated, autumnal quality of the music, and a
detailed booklet including lyrics... Even if it may not be the most
innovative effort on the market, it is still a classy album –
easily as good as many releases by higher-profile outfits – that
will delight fans of melodic prog and bands such as Genesis, Pink
Floyd and Camel... (read the complete review HERE)
Conor
Fynes: Perhaps somewhat like the style legends Porcupine Tree, the
vintage prog sounds of synths and soaring guitar leads are fused into
what is otherwise a rock style very aware of its contemporaries.
Indeed, this idea of fusing the old and new is a concept about as old
as progressive rock itself, but The Former Life do it a good service.
Often, the band will explore several different styles within a
different song, and the transitions are kept smooth, thanks to a
focused approach to songwriting... (read the complete review HERE)
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