Italian fusion act Mobius Strip are back with the follow-up to their debut self-titled 2017 release, this one called Time Lag and sees Lorenzo Cellupica (keyboards, vocals), Nico Fabrizi (sax, percussion), Eros Capocccitti (bass, percussion), and Davide Rufo (drums, percussion) offering up six new melodic tracks that fuse classic jazz fusion with a touch of prog, complemented by some help from a cast of musicians lending some horns, guitar, and vocals in spots.
Opener "Chand Baori" is an upbeat, memorable affair, Fabrizi's saxophone leading the charge alongside Callupica majestic keyboard tones, and at just under 9-minutes it allows for plenty of soloing but always maintains the strong sense of melody. "Iblis's Hybris" is more of a complex composition, trumpet added to the mix for a nice effect, the rhythms rumbling & tumbling and Callupica's piano floating over the top, while "Mateka's Speech" again sees the horns making an appearance and working nicely with Fabrizi's sax, the bass also playing a major role, giving the song a lively Weather Report feel. "Old Tapestry" features cascading piano & sax over busy rhythms, giving way to a wild organ solo, and "Morbius Cube" is more of a laid back track with a nimble bass solo courtesy of Capoccitti, the band slowly building the arrangement to a fierce crescendo featuring guitar, sax, and piano. Last track "A Theme for the End" includes some vocals but is more of a rock/prog styled number, guitars and horns lending a Blood Sweat & Tears flair matched up with Gentle Giant styled vocal counterpoint. Fascinating stuff!
All in all, Time Lag is an excellent album from Mobius Strip, the band clearly growing as musicians and songwriters, giving us another excellent fusion album here in 2021. Recommended!
Track Listing
1.
Chand Baori 08:57
2.
Iblis's Hybris 07:52
3.
Mateka's Speech 08:29
4.
Old Tapestry 10:06
5.
Möbius Cube 07:32
6.
A Theme for the End 06:34
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