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Vespero — Sonĝo
(Tonzonen TON110, 2021, CD/DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2022-01-23

Sonĝo Cover art

Russian psych / prog instrumental band Vespero are back with a brand new album Sonĝo. The first thing you note is the odd letter in the title, as well as some of the song titles. A little bit of research tells you that Vespero is now exploring Esperanto, the world's most widely spoken constructed language. But since music is the universal language, what else does Vespero require? Sonĝo translates to “A Dream.” The nine instrumental tracks are a rich dreamlike mixture of prog fusion, world music, floating electronics, and psych by a band that continues to grow and mature beyond their space rock roots. Most of the tracks are in the seven minute range, which allows Vespero to fully flesh out their compositions. Mastered by none other than Krautrock impresario Eroc, Vespero may have produced their best album to date. Guest vocalist Sonya Vlasova’s wordless singing lends a Dark Side of the Moon vibe to several of the tracks. For me, the best track is the gentle and inventive “Le Papillon ou moi” that develops into a beautiful cosmic flight propelled by Vitaly Borodin’s violin work. Then there is “Samaväya,” that combines Manuel Göttsching style guitar riffing, Morricone Spaghetti Western vibes, Mellotron, and Borodin’s soaring violin. And the more you dig into Vespero’s world, the richer the experience. The closing track, “Stymphalian Birds,” is eight minutes of Alexander Kuzovlev’s inspiring and melodic guitar lines, symbolic of the mythical man-eating birds with bronze beaks, sharp metallic feathers that they could fire at their victims, and poisonous guano, that were vanquished by Hercules’ sixth labor. So indulge yourself in Vespero’s world and check out Sonĝo.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Vespero

More info
http://music.vespero.ru/album/songo

 

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