Analysis.
It took three years for DFA to bring out their sophomore outing whose title, "Duty Free Area", is nothing other than the band's acronym in its unfolded form. "Duty Free Area" has a much more jazz-oriented approach than its predecessor, though it would definitely be more exact to say this release finds DFA being near-completely focused on the style they've laid on
Space Ace Man - yeah that very sole Space Fusion-related composition from "Lavori in Corso". Unlike the group's first effort, there are few organ and no mellotron patterns to be found here, and yet the sound here has a rather strong vintage feeling too, this time around due to the prevalence of the analog, Wurlitzer-like piano in the arrangement. Three of the album's six tracks,
Caleidoscopio, Esperanto and
Malia, feature a lyrical content, but there are too few vocals on each of the first two to regard them as songs, the latter being, say, merely largely instrumental. Already the first piece,
Escher, signifies that DFA are back with a lot of alterations to their sound, although it does so in a less successful way than most of the subsequent ones. With the swirling, yet cyclical solo that Alberto Bonomi generates from his synthesizer, which runs almost all through the track, it is difficult to avoid comparisons to
Ozric Tentacles, though the names of
Hawkwind,
The Alan Parsons Project and Tangerine Dream may also crop up in this respect. Only occasionally do DFA venture on eclectic jams here, and it is at times only Alberto Grandis's both lively and complex drumming that seems to keep the piece from falling into the category of electronically symphonic Space Rock. Curiously, another piece that doesn't completely blend with the disc's prevailing picture,
Malia, takes the opposite place in its track list. Here the music, while being filled with a light, yet distinctive fusion sense, is both slow and mellow throughout, the drummer's singing (in duet with a guest female vocalist, by the way) having a slight flavor of jazz as well. That said, the core material is much more challenging, and I'd even say that not a single note is wasted anywhere on the four middle tracks,
Caleidoscopio, Esperanto, Ascedente Scorpione and
Ragno, all of which are really outstanding, with a lot of breathtaking shifts in direction, and ensemble jams as well. No one would reproach DFA for being derivative, but nonetheless I don't think it will be a crime if I note that the band's sound here isn't too far from such major-league space fusion acts as
Steve Hillage (circa "Fish Rising") and
Carpe Diem ("Cueille le Jour"), but especially
Gong ("You"), with some hints of
Yes,
Return To Forever and
Porcupine Tree, though the latter connection manifests itself only within the Prog-Metal-like moves, which can occasionally be found on each of those four compositions. The playing is superb, with plenty of meaty leads on the part of both keyboardist Alberto Bonomi and guitarist Silvio Minella. The rhythm section shines with great precision, though the battery's commander, Alberto Grandis, and bassist Luca Baldassari each from time to time contribute some genuine solos to the common stock. As to the three makeweights that the package is supplemented with, they are some of the very best live recordings that I've heard this year.
Conclusion.
Those who are exclusively into symphonic Art-Rock might think that DFA took a sizeable step back with their second studio recording, but most of the omnivorous (rather open-minded) prog-heads will definitely find it to be overall on a par with its precursor, if not a leap forwards. In all, "Kaleidoscope" is a must have for anybody whose horizon isn't caged within any single progressive rock genre, though I believe that should be clear from the review itself.
VM: October 5 & 6, 2007
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