Sound Wall Project
Monomorphosis

2012. Italy. Trip Hop influenced by Progressive Rock.

In short, all the data for a possible failure.

What do they tell me? The vocalist is Simone Baldini Tosi (already a singer with Moongarden, an Italian progressive rock group of questionable taste). All the elements for a possible failure are there.

I find them purely by chance on SoundCloud and delve into their Facebook page. I discover that Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) collaborated on the album and will be part of the group on the next album. Let's put a singer like Simone Baldini Tosi (a very Gabriel-like voice), a jazz bassist, and Trip Hop side by side.

We start off badly, or at least it might seem so.

The project belongs to Andrea Bonizzi and "Frank" (whom I later discover is just an artistic name of our friendly Bonizzi), a young, very young producer from Mantova, at only 22 years old, has come out with an album with guts, like I haven't heard in a while in the Italian scene.

I start the album and listen. 

"To Bring Me" starts in an almost playful tone and evolves more and more, from really soft trip hop to an ensemble of increasingly heavier electronic sounds that almost catapult us back to the golden years of Radiohead’s Kid A, with vocal effects like radios, glitch, and very heavy electronic drums. At the end, some completely unexpected mellotron. What else should we expect? These guys are anything but predictable, both melodically and sonically.

"People" is the heaviest track on the album. A very powerful electronic beat and the bass of good Davide Vantini decisively accompany Simone Baldini Tosi's voice, which fits perfectly with the genre of these Sound Wall Project. We reach the bridge in the middle with great confidence. An unexpected industrial sound texture opens up, and boy does it open, the piece accompanying a cynical "I don't like people, People don't like me". As if it wasn't enough for our dark atmosphere, here come the very heavy guitars that bring the piece to a close.

What should we expect next?

"Unexpected Lysergic Effects" starts with two chords of this ethereal sound, a sound that seems to be already inside us, that these Sound Wall Project merely bring to light. Colin Edwin on fretless bass, above a driving Trip Hop beat, supports the very strange melody sung by Simone Baldini Tosi. What a track. What a track. The bridge leaves room for Colin's bass, with Simone's heart-wrenching voice delivering the final blow. Masterpiece.

"I Feel Stupid". What to say about this track? If Pink Floyd had started composing in these years, they might have created this, perhaps. The track opens with a "SOYCD" intro from 2012. The verse is bewildering. Very complex. It changes key every measure. The sonic research is monstrous. The result? Thrilling. How? I don't know. It's their merit. Thumbs up for their bassist Davide Vantini. Simone Baldini Tosi's notes are heavenly, yet grounded. They are wrenching, but liberating. A prog piece disguised as trip hop. I would never have hoped for it.

We come to the turning point 

"Frank Is Gone". Again for factors of improbability. The featured guest on this track is Giorgio Signoretti, a well-known jazz guitarist from Mantova. What to expect? Certainly not a dark electronic piece. The groove is something superb. Backwards heavily effected vocals carry this piece forward, on a very dark and engaging sound. A special mention to Giorgio Signoretti, with a rather bewildering "animalistic" solo at the end of the song.

The album is not homogeneous at all, but it runs smoothly like few others.

"Keep On Living". An intro of 1 and a half minutes. Starling sonic research leaves space for us to catch our breath and enjoy many nuances of these expansive Sound Wall Project. Then it takes back all the air with an epic crescendo. "Love", a classic Trip Hop piece that talks about love. Perhaps banal? Maybe. But a great track, excellent sonic research, excellent craftsmanship and excellent interpretation.

We arrive at "Choosing", the bomb of the album. I couldn't describe it any other way. A good minute-long psychedelic intro, spacey sounds, a sample from Pink Floyd's Echoes, almost a salute to their gods. Simone's voice opens on a verse that only foreshadows what will come later. A piece with a tremendous emotional charge, with a truly inspired Baldini Tosi.

The album closes with "All Around Us", an almost Pop track with a mighty crescendo, where we can enjoy once again Simone Baldini Tosi's voice, whom after this album I consider wasted with Moongarden. There's also a ghost track, an "Ode To Demetrio Stratos", a mix of experiments with Mr. Han (Linkin Park) style drum machines and vocal experiments of the trusty singer of Sound Wall Project. Furthermore, they seem to use the historical microphone of the famous singer of Area. This track is only for the pros.

In conclusion. This Andrea Bonizzi, unknown to most, together with all the Sound Wall Project, has done a great job. I think we will hear a lot about this fantastic group from Mantova-Arezzo-London very soon.

A 5 for trusting that these Sound Wall Project will carry on with their work with heads held high, the ideas are there, the results too.