Camelias Garden
You Have A Chance

Reviewing an album by your well-established idols is exciting, but reviewing an album by a friend's band that, after so much effort, has managed to debut is truly an incredible emotion!!! It's certainly very cool to say "I have a friend with a newly released album", it's not something everyone can say, let's admit it!

In fact, I personally know the keyboardist Valerio Smordoni, the main mind behind the Camelias Garden project (which, as he often reminds us, should not be written with the possessive 's as was initially done), a project that began as a solo act and was later completed with the addition of guitarist Manolo D'Antonio and bassist Marco Avallone. I met him through mutual friends (the ones who often accompany me to concerts) thanks to the Skype conferences we frequently held, which he also attended. And I even had the chance to collaborate with him! Not musically, as I am not a musician, but by hosting a radio show about progressive music together on the now-defunct web radio "JamRadio". We were followed by about twenty people, but I was passionate about it anyway because I was dealing with my passion for criticism. There may have been about twenty, but better even just twenty true prog listeners than the millions who get excited over the usual boring and narrow batch of bland songs offered by CrapTV or by RTL 102Blah (let's call things by their proper name, please!). During this show, I expressed opinions and thoughts on both current and past progressive music and chose half of the tracks, while Valerio occasionally added Camelias Garden's tracks to the playlist... practically never revealing, however, that they were his band, perhaps a slightly strategic choice. I also had the opportunity to meet the band when they stopped in Milan on my birthday last May, during which they previewed some tracks. Therefore, my anticipation for this long-awaited debut album was understandably high. But it finally came out this March.

The style of this band, of which this debut is a clear example, is perfectly balanced between modern indie folk and the vintage sounds of old '70s progressive music. What piques curiosity and is quite atypical for a progressive band is essentially that the sound is almost entirely acoustic, at least as far as the guitars are concerned. The electric guitar, in fact, finds very little space, just a few windows. But even the melodies are unusually linear and catchy for a band that draws from classic prog. The tracks do not seem to present significant rhythmic and structural dynamism. This leads me to think that the main base of the band is folk. On the other hand, though, while the base and framework are decidedly folk, the sounds accompanying the acoustic guitars are clearly prog. Derek Smordonian (as I nickname him due to his great admiration for Derek Sherinian), selects the sounds of old Hammonds and Mellotrons, uses a harmonium, and even a real Minimoog (which he always enthusiastically showcases on his Facebook profile). Let’s not forget the flute parts (entrusted to outside musician Carlo Enrico Macalli). There are also inserts of violin and cello (also performed by external musicians). But the stylistic discourse is quite complex, and if defining the album is so complicated, it means the band is great!

But let's get to the individual moments. The track that best showcases the fusion between folk and progressive is undoubtedly the mini-suite (or rather, micro-suite, considering its mere 6 minutes) "Dance Of The Sun/The Remark/Dance Of The Sun (Birth Of The Light)": here, acoustic arpeggios truly alternate with organ and Mellotron carpets, and with elaborate synthesizer passages; everything is characterized by a rhythm almost akin to a folk dance, and a real folk dance atmosphere is seriously felt in the final part dominated by a lively violin. Another standout track is "Mellow Days", with a slight predominance of prog but also room for folk phrasings and 12-string guitars with a vaguely Genesis-like flavor; not coincidentally, the track might immediately remind one of "The Cinema Show" thanks to its arpeggios and its relaxed acoustic pace, which then gives way to a more lively part where you breathe the air of true prog and also find excellent electric guitar parts; another historical track to which it could be compared is undoubtedly "Song Within A Song" by Camel (much loved by Smordoni) for its becoming lively in the second part and for the particular use of the flute. "The Withered Throne", on the other hand, is the opposite, in the sense that acoustic plots and catchy melodies dominate, but vintage keyboard inserts still give it a prog and retro flavor. The instrumental "We All Stand In Our Broken Jars" is instead a concrete example of modern prog that does not overlook the vintage: the imprint is decidedly less folk, and exceptionally, the electric guitar dominates, although the acoustic base is present; the beginning, for the rhythm, the acoustic base, and the initial delicacy of the electric inserts, is reminiscent of "Harvest" by Opeth, but soon after the distorted chords take over; the same electric guitar creates excellent phrases intertwined with the piano; however, even here, the symphonic keyboards play their part, and the synth closes the track. Completely different is also the other instrumental, "A Safe Haven", centered on the piano, essentially very gentle, almost Wilson-esque style, but more lively in the central part; the flute intervention is also excellent.

The remaining tracks, on the other hand, are closer to pure indie folk, as well as the delicate and melancholic neo-acoustic sound of Kings Of Convenience, yet they don’t seem like mere copies of one another. The opener "Some Stories" boasts a beautiful flute solo, "Clumsy Grace" impresses with its dark arpeggios, "'Til The Morning Came" is easily singable, and the closing "Some Stories (Reprise)" cleverly reintroduces samples from the previous tracks to neatly close the circle. Worth mentioning separately is "Knight's Vow". In fact, it's the most distinctly pop track on the album... but what a great pop track! An acoustic pop capable of immediately striking the listener, which can be listened to casually without much attention, a track fit even for car radios and supermarkets, yet absolutely not as banal as the stuff usually on the radio, further confirmed by the two synth solos that might easily bring to mind tracks like "Follow You, Follow Me" (the second solo almost seems like that old solo played backwards).

All things considered, we can safely say that Camelias Garden hit the mark right from the start! They managed to produce an album that, while derivative and full of inspirations, is practically never something already heard. This is because the guys know how to creatively and, in a certain respect, also innovatively mix the various elements. It's remarkable how, especially in certain pieces, the old-school prog sounds amazingly adapt to the sound of modern folk almost as if this harmony created itself, without the band's intervention, which is certainly there. Also praiseworthy is the band's ability not to sound repetitive at all upon listening: the tracks, despite the sources of inspiration being more or less the same, all turn out quite different from one another; there isn’t a track identical to another, each seems to have its own magic, its own unique characteristic. The feedback from the audience has been clear, thanks to enthusiastic reviews and some visibility on progarchives: the band even appeared among the top 50 of the last 24 hours during the period just after the album's release. They might still improve, perhaps there’s still much to explore, maybe the crossover between folk and prog can be better developed and deepened, but in the meantime, you can only give this mature debut full marks and confidently state that this band can have a great future.