In the Nursery
L'Esprit

In the vast discography of the Humberstone brothers, the album "L'Esprit" - released in 1990 - represents a peak never again reached. At least because all the other successful works of the duo are somehow offspring of "L'Esprit". What I mean is that this wonderful album of neoclassical ambient music (tinged with dark influences) was a sort of milestone of the genre and at the time did not fail to surprise and satisfy more than one palate; even those less accustomed to frequenting the European independent scene. The strongly evocative musical tracks that the two brothers were able to produce are a summa of properly said classical modules enveloped by the reverb of new wave culture. Not new-age, mind you. I wrote new wave because at first glance, In The Nursery's work might seem related to the mystical wave that precisely in those years engulfed many authors of scholarly instrumental music. Here, however, the spirit of new-age as such does not come into play. "L'Esprit" is primarily an intimate and grandiose work that revisits the composition of 19th-century symphonies and chamber romanticism with the technology of samplers and synthesizers. The spirit is that of an emotional suggestion that in various episodes paints with sounds paintings of disarming beauty.

Listening to tracks like "At first sight" and "Azure wings" we are catapulted into a dreamlike - yet tangible - dimension where music is a medium between the listener and their subconscious projections. Without the artifice of futuristic sounds, but rather using the full power of string sections, choirs, plucked strings. Paradoxically, it is a timeless music that, although indebted to a past tradition, manages to place itself in the present without seeming "old". Something that the two brothers have been able to exploit to the fullest over numerous other albums. Certainly with ups and downs, but with a formal coherence that has allowed them to earn great esteem from a broad audience in a transversal way.

"L'Esprit" is the record you put on when you need to relax, but also when you want to feel your mind stimulated. It has nothing redundant or baroque, not even in its more triumphant moments like the opening of "To the faithful" or in "Retaliation". An album recommended without preconceptions to anyone who still believes in the power of music regardless of eras and genres.