Nosound
Sol29

Like a modern-day Prometheus stealing knowledge from the divine to give it to mankind, so does Nosound steal the soul from Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Projekt Erde, David Sylvian, and No Man to give us a record that is both formidable and introspective at the same time...

There you have it, that’s how I could start this review and I could even end it after mentioning the sources of inspiration for the excellent Giancarlo Erra, better known as Nosound. But these few lines are not enough, they are not enough to outline the soul contained within the album, they are not enough to fill oneself with the fullness of the sound, they are not enough to lift oneself off the ground on a path to a sky that touches you inside and out.
Twilight-like and absolutely slow in its unfolding, slow in disentangling from the instruments that oppress it, slow and diffused, caressing and warm like a mother’s embrace upon the first cry of her cub: this is how Giancarlo awaits us, he waits and shows us the path to follow. And the path is dream and nightmare, relaxation and fear, love and anguish, in a few words the human experience so evident and tangible, yet so incomprehensible at the same time.

Already observing the cover and booklet, one can see this dichotomy tied to spaces of wide breath that extol the opening of vision and reflection and the anguish of empty scenarios where man is forced to reckon with being only a part of the immense. The music creates and completes the initial idea... This is what Giancarlo has communicated to me and thus his artistic gift marries my feeling.

"Sol29" is not a technical album, "Sol29" is not an album for those looking for violence, screaming, abused guitars, pounded drums, and sketched and insinuating bass lines.
"Sol29" is a minimal album, a continuous loop in constant evolution that does not shy away from presenting itself quietly. Loop after loop the mind is pushed to fly, to reason, to let itself be drawn into this enchanting mental trip. Stretched guitars and soft solos à la Gilmour, like Steven Wilson in his best days. Immense and omnipresent keyboards filling the empty spaces, marvelous and harmonic and steady on stretched notes worthy of Barbieri. Deep basses with simple and effective notes that reach you to the core. The drums, however, are not always up to the task and in some tracks a certain emptiness and difficulty in merging back into the melody of the piece is perceived. Certainly, in a wonderful album, the lack of precision of the drums is a minor issue and you don’t even notice it anymore after the umpteenth listen (in this album the drums do not occupy a fundamental position). A voice worthy of Wilson, intimate, essential, sensual.
"Sol29" sounds like the music of the pied piper could sound... Hypnotizing.

The album can be purchased directly from Giancarlo Erra’s website, priced at 11 euros, which is not much if you consider that, at his debut, this Roman guy has delivered a masterpiece. NOT TO BE MISSED.