Klidas: No Harmony

The debut album by this Italian, mostly instrumental quintet is exciting, challenging, and charming all at once. I puzzled over its title, No Harmony, because while it is avant-garde at points, there are many memorable tunes. After a perusal of the sparse and somewhat elliptical liner notes, I think I get it, though. The band, it seems, wants to contrast the peace and beauty we often see in the world with the harshness that we also experience. You find this in the music, too, with changes of pace and feeling within each song.

The opening track, “Shores,� gets off to a rather rollicking start, with a nice softer interlude, followed by an energetic finish. It is followed by “Shine,� which begins as a rather laid-back tune with some brief English vocals low in the mix that add texture, but it also closes on a heavy note. The third track, “Not to Dissect,� is pretty much straight-up fusion, though driving at times. Although no wind instruments are listed in the credits, it sometimes seems like this song employs them.

“Arrival� is a beautiful and almost pacifying tune. At least the first and last parts of it. One could imagine those sections on In a Silent Way. But the middle section features some subtly menacing, though clean, English vocals and dissonant sounds. It ends with a Japanese female spoken passage, calm in its intonation. “Circular� also presents contrasts. There is some great sax and keyboard work complemented by restrained drumming that is intermixed with distorted guitar. The album closes with “The Trees Are in Misery.� As the title might suggest, this is a heavy cacophonous piece of music.

No Harmony clocks in at just 35 minutes. That means it doesn’t overstay its welcome and in some ways I get the sense that the band said all it wanted to say, albeit mainly instrumentally, in that time. But I would have liked to have gotten a few more tracks. Still, this is an excellent album. I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten more attention. I suggest you give it some.

Track Listing
1. Shores (6:31)
2. Shine (6:16)
3. Not to Dissect (3:32)
4. Arrival (6:56)
5. Circular (5:09)
6. The Trees Are in Misery (7:23)

Added: March 12th 2024
Reviewer: Aaron Steelman
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 176
Language: english

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