Lagartija, Particelle, 2011
Italian band Lagartija sure know how to catch your attention. Beautiful girl on the cover, but hey, she smokes a cigarette… And then the music. Opener Idiosincrasia is, if anything, a mystifying work of art. Chock full of moods swings, solo´s on sax and arranged with a perfect ear for dynamics. Not something I have heard before and yet, I still like it very much. I don´t miss the vocals for a second.
Next track Myths is again beautiful. Soft in approach, with great rhythmic patterns and meter changes, and the only track where the vocals are sung in English. All other vocal tracks are sung in Italian and so is the booklet. Alas I don´t speak Italian, so I can´t really tell you much about the band, except that the lyrics do not distract at all. This band manages to capture you easily. Their dreamy music is made to mentally drift away on. The songs are full of dynamics, never too loud, but played with style and panache.
So if you are into progressive music, where atmosphere and subtlety are key, this is something to check out. For the time being you can find their music on bandcamp and you get to name the price, so it is easy to check out and pick up. This deserves the attention of the serious listener and like any other band, they can use your support!
