New Italian Prog

From Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso

The English translation is ‘Bank of (ahem!) mutual relief.’ This Italian prog outfit have been pleasuring us since the early 1970s, producing excellent fare such as Darwin! and IO Sans Nato Libero. On the fiftieth anniversary of their first releases, they released another stellar album to high acclaim: Orlando: Le Forme dell’Amore (‘The Shapes of Love’). I bought the album this week and after first listening to its 76 minutes spread over 15 tracks, I immediately tapped replay. With their previous album only released in 2019, Transibereriana, they show no signs of pending retirement.

And this is despite their charismatic frontman, Francesco Di Giacomo dying in a car accident in 2014.

With these two albums they have returned with full vigour and imaginative complexity.

The band’s prog influences are orientated to the British first wave: Gentle Giant, Genesis, Jethro Tull and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Keyboards — Hammond organ, piano and synthesisers — feature heavily in developing complex textures and layers of polyrhythmic patterns, punctuated by soaring leaps of lead guitar. This is often balanced by tasteful inclusions of acoustic instrumentation, bringing together an innovative style that…