Review published on July, 4, 2011 in Heathen Harvest.

Here we have a neoclassical band, which has two members (well, neoclassical band doesn’t need more anyways): a pianist Olga and cellist Pilar. It was interesting to get acquainted with a neoclassical project coming from Spain no matter I was first a little bit skeptic about the band, when I read the description and references. I can’t really say what I was waiting for from the band, perhaps I was waiting for nothing, because each time you are waiting for something original from the bands having a reference to Dead Can Dance, your expectations fail. But! When I finished listening to this short release, rather an abstract from a story to tease you, I almost felt the tear coming from my eye (apart from that it got combined with windy and rainy window behind my window really well). And to be honest, it was long ago when I was moved by the sounds of music last time.

As I already said this release looks like a teaser, an abstract from a story that interrupts all of a sudden and you cannot figure out why, because for the last 11 minutes your world was completely filled with the sounds of piano and cello, combined, intertwined, talking to each other, quarrelling and singing together, being in a hurry, going up and down and carried away in the stream of synth background, accompanied by rare vocal and drum fragments.

Certainly, it is a very lyrical piece of music. I think each track in this release is worth mentioning and description, in the end, there are only three of them. Each of the tracks has synth atmospheric background that gives the tone to the tracks and an album as a whole. The first track, Breaking Thoughts, is the only one that has vocals and clear synths on the background. It can be compared to the swinging teeter-totter, first the amplitude is low and the sound in the track is rather calm and unemotional, but then it slowly develops, becomes more powerful, and then again almost stops, as if the one who was swinging the whole thing suddenly got deeply into the memories, which then become more and more disturbing. And then the sound becomes strong again and the whole thing gets to the culmination closer to the end. The second track, Progresiva, is very ringing and sparkling and tickly and transparent and aerial and passionate thanks to piano passages that go throughout the track being a perfect background for the cello, creating an incredibly tense atmosphere. And I guess you feel the same when the airplane takes off and the land stays behind while you go up in the skies…The third track compared to other two overall is rather calm, unites two previous tracks and puts not a comma, but three dots…

In fact, I don’t think it has much in common with Dead Can Dance, rather with Arcana, which kept developing a certain part of Dead Can Dance, and with Stoa (at least from what I have heard). Generally, this release is characterized by the idea of hope you have while listening to the music which is rather melancholic and even tragic, perhaps. It has unexpected turns, interesting harmonies and melodies as well as ways of expression. I wouldn’t say that they did something extremely original that no one has ever done before. No. I would rather say that they created a piece that sounds very honest and touching, very natural and inspiring and something you want to listen to again and again. Weird thing: it feels like winter nature waiting for the spring to come, although the band itself comes from Spain.

Rating: 5/5

by Elena ZG