Acqua Fragile: "Moving Fragments" -Reviewer: Jon Neudorf

 Acqua Fragile: Moving Fragments

Reviewer: Jon Neudorf

You got to hand it to those Italians for making so much interesting music over the years. Acqua Fragile is one such band. Their roots go all the way back to 1971 and after a five year run, they drifted apart only to resurface decades later, and in 2017 they surfaced again releasing A New Chant followed by Moving Fragments.

For me, it’s the vocals that set this band apart. Bernardo Lanzetti, who notably brought his English vocals to PFM, has sung on every album, dating back to their debut in 1973. He has a dramatic presentation and a unique tone that is quite unmistakable. Franz Dondi (bass) has also been there since the beginning.

I found their latest album titled Moving Fragments, only their fourth in over fifty years, to be a fresh take on Italian progressive rock. Besides the vocals adding a unique flavour, the music also has that traditional prog rock sound I really enjoy.

The disc kicks off with “Her Shadow’s Torture” beginning with dramatic bursts of Mellotron, the sound evolves with flair and dynamics at a high level, very cinematic in scope. Lanzetti’s near talking vocals are intriguing and easily reeled me into the fold. Organ and snare build, lots of groove and wonderful keyboards on full display. A nice guitar salvo takes the song home. The strangely titled “White Horse On Dope” has an edgy guitar riff and exceptional organ play. Add a catchy chorus and tricky tempo changes and this song should have vast appeal to our prog readers. The quirky title track has an abundance of keyboard sounds which should appeal to fans of the instrument and with “Malo Bravo” the dramatic vocals and keys make for some heady prog. “Black Drone” highlights the incomparable David Jackson of Van der Graaf Generator fame, his flute and saxophone adding just the right amount of eclecticism. The album ends with the excellent “Limerence Ethereal”, highlighted by aggressive guitar riffs and dramatic keyboards. Excellent song dynamics in this one.

The recording quality is crisp and clean, just another reason to dig into this high quality slice of Italian progressive rock. Recommended.

 

Track Listing:

1. Her Shadow’s Torture (5:52)

2. White Horse On Dope (4:08)

3. Moving Fragments (3:03)

4. Malo Bravo (4:50)

5. IA - Intelligenza Artificiale (4:07)

6. Black Drone (3:52)

7. DD Danz (4:16)

8. Il Suono Della Voce (5:05)

9. Limerence Ethereal (5:58)