ANTIQUA
(Cristiano Roversi)
Label(s):
Release Date:
Tuesday, October 9,
2012
Grade:
A-
Format:
EP
Tracks:
9
- Other Reviews
DID YOU KNOW?
Roversi is part of the Italian
Progressive Rock band Moongarden. Their last album was 2009's A Vulgar Display
Of Prog.
Just by looking at the cover of Cristiano Roversi’s AntiQua album, there is a
sense of adventure, fantasy, that a story is about to be told that will span for
ages leading into something epic. A small boy with a strange looking hat donning
a surprised expression as a small dragon hovers before him. An old pirate with a
pipe in his mouth, hands held up before him as if casting a spell.
The cover is absolutely busy with images ranging from the forefront to deep in the background where we see a ship, high thin peaked mountains, a yellow sky. Anticipation for what I would find on the album was high.
The album is indefinable by any standards. The first track off of the album sounds as if you’ve just begun a film soundtrack. It’s very orchestrated and moody, which I think is intentional. Most listeners, that are willing, will see the cover art and simply let themselves be guided by their imagination- the cover of the album sparking all types of mischief and magic.
Later on in the album you’ll find music that seems generated from some fantasy RPG, a female fronted song with whispers of description, an Italian language track, and a sci-fi sounding track (at least to me it was). The mood of the album makes me believe that Roversi is guiding us through the different regions of a land called AntiQua where there is magic, danger, a diverse peoples and mythical creatures, and adding atmosphere with either light sounding guitar driven music or dark ominous waves of synth sounding breaks in the waves of tranquility.
Like Jazz, this progressive rock effort is going to be a different adventure for everyone that listens to it. Some less experienced travelers might laugh at the bard like tunes that pop up now again, or find themselves drawn into a familiarity with the almost Pink Floyd inspired guitar driven tunes that pop up throughout the album. Top 40 Radio fans will most likely not know what to do with this album, but if you enjoy stepping off the beaten path and can appreciate something refreshing creative, AntiQua will be a treat you’ll find yourself enjoying before you know it. Enjoy.
The cover is absolutely busy with images ranging from the forefront to deep in the background where we see a ship, high thin peaked mountains, a yellow sky. Anticipation for what I would find on the album was high.
The album is indefinable by any standards. The first track off of the album sounds as if you’ve just begun a film soundtrack. It’s very orchestrated and moody, which I think is intentional. Most listeners, that are willing, will see the cover art and simply let themselves be guided by their imagination- the cover of the album sparking all types of mischief and magic.
Later on in the album you’ll find music that seems generated from some fantasy RPG, a female fronted song with whispers of description, an Italian language track, and a sci-fi sounding track (at least to me it was). The mood of the album makes me believe that Roversi is guiding us through the different regions of a land called AntiQua where there is magic, danger, a diverse peoples and mythical creatures, and adding atmosphere with either light sounding guitar driven music or dark ominous waves of synth sounding breaks in the waves of tranquility.
Like Jazz, this progressive rock effort is going to be a different adventure for everyone that listens to it. Some less experienced travelers might laugh at the bard like tunes that pop up now again, or find themselves drawn into a familiarity with the almost Pink Floyd inspired guitar driven tunes that pop up throughout the album. Top 40 Radio fans will most likely not know what to do with this album, but if you enjoy stepping off the beaten path and can appreciate something refreshing creative, AntiQua will be a treat you’ll find yourself enjoying before you know it. Enjoy.
- Review by AJ Garcia
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