Sometimes you are sent an album to review, and you put that album on for an initial, shall we say, familiarisation listen. You don’t want to write anything, because nothing has registered, and artists must be treated with respect, the reviewer gaining a personal understanding of the craft before him. There is then, and it happens rarely, a moment when on that familiarisation, you stand shocked at what you hear, a sequence of notes or voice so profound that it demands every fibre of your being paying close attention and certainly putting aside all other trivial demands on your time such as work. An album which fills you with joy.
Hungersleep Records, the home of the incredible Grice and Siobhan McCrudden have released such an album, Urban Vision by Italian composer and multi-instrumentalist, Nicola Lori. Staggering in scope and execution, it is a bona fide modern art rock classic.
The album was released in October 2024, and you can obtain it by popping along to https://hungersleeprecords.bandcamp.com/album/urban-vision I would also recommend popping along to Nicola’s website at https://www.nicolalori.com/
He was a founding member of Fjieri in the 1990’s, who released a couple of very well received albums, and a certain Prog Rogue, my very good friend, was especially enamoured of them. Lori is dripping with the spirit of classic art and progressive rock, and I am very pleased to be able to share my thoughts on this work of sheer quality.
The album features guest appearances from the aforementioned Grice (one of the finest of modern artists), Robby Aceto, Colin Edwin, Andrea Chimenti, and Nicola Alesini.
Ten songs. A decade of sheer musical pleasure. Let’s discuss.
We start with Running Life, a moody start with interesting programming, a pared back trumpet from Luca Calabrese, and some impressive drums by Luca Fareri. At about the two-minute mark, the piece opens with some rollocking noises, the guitar solo very impressive, synths which remind one of Wright in his heyday, but pumped up in terms of tempo. Very impressive as an opening salvo, it ebbs and flows, much as life itself.
The title track has the unique voice of Grice and the equally unique bass of Colin Edwin, who has not been a part of the resurrected Porcupine Tree. I have embedded this below. I love the thumping drums introducing the song from Daniele Iacono. I think Grice is one of this country’s most talented artists, so I might perhaps be a little biased when I state that his enigmatic voice and songwriting talents are a top synch for Lori, and just glory in that bassline underneath the sumptuous tale of what lurks underneath the city life noise, the guitars at times harsh, unrelenting, and reflecting the turbulence of the chaotic traffic (keep your eye on the road!), people, buildings, but the track never losing a gorgeous beat.
Inside Your Thoughts opens in a dark manner with minor notes on the keys, Lori proving himself no slouch when it comes to creating a funk-driven bass groove, which is at the heart of this intriguing track, the mood swinging, but never, I think, losing its fundamentally dark undercurrents, the thoughts examined not the sunniest, I feel. There is some wonderful moody guitar work on this.
A Life in this Heaven, what a title, is next, and it is simply incredible. It is embedded below for you to enjoy, the trumpet so soulful, the vocals from Grice, who wrote the lyrics, dripping with the lament of what we simply do not see in this world, the beauty all around us. A favourite of my listening year thus far. A song for late night listening amongst friends at a club, sheltered from the hubbub of the city breathing outside.
Helios is the Ancient Greek Sun God. The song is almost five minutes of art rock instrumental perfection and is also embedded below for you. A gorgeous combination of the pastoral, orchestral, and dreamy psych, just listen to that fretless bass, the ghostly guitar, a lush piano setting the scene, and the mellotron overlaying all. Simply stunning.
A Night In Istanbul is the longest track on the album at just short of seven minutes. Edwin returns on bass, as does that sensuous trumpet of Calabrese. There is some interesting interplay on this between electronic and traditional percussion, some delightful slow-burning grooves, atmospheric in which you can visualise walking the streets of this ancient city, with all the human history encapsulated within and beneath it.
Strana la Vita translates as Life is Strange, and that is most certainly true of the times in which we are living, most of which in April 2025 falls under the “can’t make it up” category. The lyrics and vocals on this are provided by Andrea Chimenti (who has worked with David Sylvian). The piano to start is thoughtful, evocative before it and acoustic guitar introduce the suggestive voice in a track dripping with jazz sensibilities, a highlight the bassline provided by Cristiano Roversi – this really is an album for the bass guitar aficionado. The mood is perfectly exemplified by the lush saxophone solo Nicola Alesini provides, and alongside this is a guitar passage Fripp himself would be proud of. Modern jazz rock at its finest.
It's Looking Like April has Robert Aceto, who has also worked with Sylvian, providing lyrics and vocals. I am writing this review in April 2025 in the middle of a beautiful Spring afternoon, a run of lovely sunny weather for a change here in West Wales. The time of the year when everything is opening again, the promise of new life and joy in warmth. There is a fine vocal duet between Aceto and Seneca Blakely-Armitage in a very laid-back, soulful piece of music.
Grice returns for The Psychology of Persuasion, examining, I believe, the dichotomy between cultures. The bass melody is mesmerising, the vocals insistent without being shouty, and the effects interesting. The song builds to a crescendo with the realisation that the two are not the same, in opposition to the earlier thoughts, and this provides us with a crystal-clear guitar burst, the energy accelerated.
We close with Shadows of my Memories. Aceto co-wrote this, and he returns alongside Calabrese, who has put in a great shift on the album, the muted trumpet creating the mood, the lyrics talking about walking with a dark angel on a hill too steep to climb. The mellotron provides a surreal soundscape above the notes in a track which is deeply reflective. As the track enters its final third, the intensity and emotion build very nicely, some great guitar work.
If you like your music intelligent, ambitious, and dripping with jazz/art rock, then this is simply a must-buy album. Very impressive, and highly recommended.