MANGALA VALLIS: Voices (A.O.R.,Rock): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Some artists remain faithful throughout their career to the style that made them famous, so much so that two albums released thirty or forty years apart look like twins. Others change over time, according to their personal experiences or to keep up with the times. Finally, others seem to have two lives, turning their backs on one part of their work to start another in a radically different style.

Mangala Vallis certainly falls into the third category. If "Microsolco" (2012) had already begun a break from the two albums released in the first decade of the 2000s, "Voices" consumes it completely. Forget the "Genesis période Foxtrot" or the "PFM" that the review of "Lycanthrope" was talking about. Gone is the ubiquitous Mellotron. Forgotten the complex compositions, the breaks in melodic themes, the somewhat theatrical character of the whole. Anyone who has been aware of the band's marked similarities with Genesis of the Peter Gabriel period should be warned: "Voices" has little (if any) in common with "The Book of Dreams" and "Lycanthrope".

Because progressive is not in question here. The seven compositions that make up the menu of "Voices" are calibrated on a seemingly made for FM : (verse/chorus) x 2 + instrumental break + chorus repeat, that's the program. Only 'No Reason' derogates from this rule, making the first 4 minutes of an energetic ballad reminiscent of Kansas an instrumental with no apparent connection to the above. All the tracks have a more or less sustained mid-tempo rhythm, except for 'Sour' which ends the album on a softer melancholic point.

The melodies are generally flattering to the ear and the limpid production does justice to each player, a quality all the more precious as everything is played tutti. Where some albums are drowned in a kind of sound mush, the production of "Voices" on the contrary allows to distinguish the role of each instrument, the very balanced mix not favouring one of them to the detriment of the others. Roberto Tiranti's voice dominates the debates: powerful, sometimes a bit raucous ('An End to An End'), it leaves little space for guitar solos (mainly) and keyboards (occasionally). If the vocals are never taken in default on its accuracy and its vigour, it lacks nevertheless this shivering sensitivity.

Far from the progressive of the first albums, "Voices" is a muscular FM rock record flirting with AOR, closer to Toto, Kansas or the Eagles than to Genesis or PFM. The very pleasant compositions and the professionalism of the band make you have a good time but without any surprise. - Official website

MANGALA VALLIS

VOICES

MA.RA.CASH RECORDS

A.O.R.