Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Periferia del Mondo — Perif3ria del Mondo
(Electromantic ART 418, 2006, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2008-01-01

Perif3ria del Mondo Cover art

Their third album, my first to hear. There’s a good variety of tones and influences here, not really like anything else I can think of. Some of the heavier parts remind me of the heavier moments off of Minstrel in the Gallery or Octopus, but the prominent woodwinds (saxes, clarinet, flute, recorder) always break that similarity. Occasional electronic noodling, spoken Italian, and environmental noises offset the composed sections. And there’s even a little cocktail jazz thrown in to keep you guessing. From the description it may seem as if this band is going in many directions at once, but it really holds together. All of the players are quite skilled, and the vocals are good as well; the sax in particular stands out as being better than in most rock bands with sax. In some ways, it makes me think of an updated version of the Mirage Camel if Mel Collins had been in the band. The only box you can logically put Periferia in is the Progressive Rock one, but they don’t really fit with much of the rest of what’s in there these days. And they don’t sound retro either, in spite of the occasional Hammond or Mellotron type sound. Varied, unhurried arrangements, sometimes complex, well played with a bit of exploratory spirit – seems like there ought to be room in the prog world for this sort of thing. I’m certainly enjoying it, which means I need to get hold of the previous two.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 35, 2006 releases

Related artist(s): Periferia del Mondo

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.