Songs Poem and a Lady (Ma.Ra.Cash. Records, 2013)
Italy continues to produce some of the finest progressive rock bands in the world. Songs Poem and a Lady is the impressive debut by a young new band from Padua called Empirical Time. The group is deeply influenced by the masters of the 1970s. There is clearly a Pink Floyd influence in some of the laid back poetic vocal parts and guitars. However, Empirical Time displays its mastery at transitioning to more complex time signatures, dramatic vocals and instrumental parts that recall Banco, ELP and Genesis.
The theme of the album is a mysterious, elusive woman, a lady with a thousand faces. Throughout the album, the English-language lyrics make the listener constantly guess about the identity of this intangible woman.
Empirical Time pays tribute to the golden days of the 1970s with a small musical gem. The piece ‘Whispers from the past’ is an original piece from 1970 by a band from Padua, brought back to life nearly 40 years later.
The band’s lineup includes Riccardo Scarparo on piano, keyboards, synths, vocals; Federico Galleani on guitar, vocals; Giovanni Croatto on guitar, vocals; Robert Anthony Jameson on drums; and Andrea Baggio on electric bass.
“Our aim is to give compositions a sophisticated and refined connotation. That’s why we are constantly experimenting new sounds, mixing classical and electronic instruments with poetical texts in order to create suggestive songs, that made our public travel with their mind to different places and creative universes.”
Empirical Time got everything right for its first album, a fascinating theme, a great combination of vocals and instrumentation, and echoes of the finest progressive symphonic rock from the 1970s under a 21st century perspective. I look forward to hearing more from this talented band.
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