This new album by Nichelodeon - Claudio Milano - is quite a treat to the senses. It seems to just flow over you with waves of unique, personal, emotions. Claudio, through the mechanism of "Nichelodeon" has always brought us adventurous RIO / Avant-Prog / music, but this is quite a change. All of the previous works were, of course, wonderful, but this is a true "vision" and done in a very manageable listening time. The loose English translation of the title (UKIYOE - MONDI FLUTTUANTI) of this work mentions "Floating Worlds," and that is what you get with this work of art. It's still in the unique Nichelodeon style; mixing dreamy / RIO / Avant-Prog music together, but this album paints a wonderful picture of both beauty and violence. The album opens with the more dreamy side of the creation, and slowly, although not heading in a straight line, winds into the finality of dark, vocal magnificence. The instrumentation, although vast in quantity, is so smoothly woven in that it becomes the tapestry that Nichelodeon has always been looking for, and now found. The mixture of real and syntetic instrumentation is seamless, and becomes more than just a backdrop for Claudio Milano's incredible, emotional voice, as it is a mature, boundless vehicle that takes the listener into images of the aural picture that Claudio meticulously paints. I loved this the on the first listening, and by the third time around, over the course of a week or two, have had that "can't get enough" feeling with every experience. This last listen was; myself, sitting in a recliner, middle of the night, lights off, headphones on, and just "letting it take me" to where this quality of music can travel. Sometimes scary, sometimes dreamy, immersing you into Claudio Milano's "Nichelodeon" world of art. Brave Claudio, Bravo! (5/5) |