Urban Vision is a remarkable experience. It’s one of those albums which come into your life and make you instantly wonder how you’ve ever managed to survive without it. Across ten gorgeously sensual musical windows, our senses are enchanted and bewitched by exquisite musicianship, creating profound resonances with the ebb and flow of modern urban living and capturing the sometimes glorious, the sometimes confusing and the sometimes-tortured realities of the personal and social worlds in which we find ourselves.
In case you are wondering, let me be clear. This isn’t a review. What follows is more akin to a heartfelt expression of appreciation – a token of enormous gratitude for music that has come into my life and never fails to stir, inspire, provoke, excite and, above all, satisfy my soul whenever I listen to it. Let me try to tell you why.
The first thing I would draw your attention to is the magical infusion of atmosphere which permeates everything about this album. The Blade Runner-esque cover is striking in the way it sets the scene; neon colours disperse and dissipate in the night-time mist, illuminating an isolated shadowy figure with their glow, dominated by the towering dark silhouettes of skyscrapers which frame a dark, menacing backdrop against which and within which life takes place.
The opening track, Running Life (Track 1), confirms and instils the incommunicable feeling of a living presence surrounding and enfolding us. It is both comforting and welcoming, yet unsettling, tinged with apprehension. The casual pace of the arpeggios seamlessly blend the sounds of Luca Calabrese’s echoing trumpet with Cristiano Roversi’s sultry but mesmerising Chapman stick, whilst Lori’s ethereal synthesizer riffs signal the ebb and flow that is the hustle and bustle of city life.
The atmosphere changes again. A Night in Istanbul (Track 6) is a rich and succulent tapestry of sonic textures. Colin Edwin’s sophisticated basslines mingle effortlessly with Calabrese’s haunting trumpet, the combination of Lori’s fretless guitar interjections and the engrossing, absorbing percussion work beautifully captures the metropolitan flavours of the historical city. From start to finish, the loving attention to detail creates soundscapes that are evocative, resonant and brimming with character, emotions and feelings. It is a celebration of life itself.
The second element which makes this album such a fascinating experience is the refined musical elegance created by the interplay between the instruments. We have alluded to this in the two tracks mentioned above, but Helios (Track 5) takes it to another level. Lori wrote the track as a tribute to his late brother Elio. The mood of reflection is gracefully matched by an emotional wistfulness embodied in the ‘conversation’ playing out between Angelo Strizzi’s acoustic guitar, which segues to Lori’s smooth but purposeful fretless bass, which in turn segues to Robert Nissim’s gentle yet pensive piano – and then continues the round again.
The Psychology of Persuasion (Track 9) heralds the arrival of the voice of Grice Peters to the mix. The musical give-and-take becomes more complex, echoing the abrasive lyrical content. The ever-shifting instrumental rotations weave complex soundscapes, the slide guitar initiating rippling foundations, the piano framing the breathless vocal, and a grainy saxophone flavours the musical canvas as accentuated drums punch home the almost bitter chorus. You have to be on your toes, listening to this, paying attention to what is happening in the background: there is always so much going on.
This leads me to the third element I would highlight – the craft, the artistry and the creative inventiveness of the songwriting which empowers this album with a breath-taking finesse and allure. Shadows of My Memories (Track 10) ingeniously fuses sophistication and subtlety in a song which is profound in the depths of its feeling, the depths of its angst and its aching, yearning nostalgia. The seeming simplicity embraces you, caresses you and envelops you: “I’m dark with remembering” is a wrenching, pathos-laden lament which brings you close to the point of tears. And oh, that bass line gnaws and tugs at your soul. “Until I find you”.
The title track, Urban Vision (Track 2), is the second to feature Grice Peters’s vocals and Colin Edwin’s bass. Dismissing the track as nothing more than light pop rock would be easy. But it’s not. Listen again. Listen as the structured progressions build momentum and force the direction of the song. Daniele Iacono’s drumming is key here: driving, insistent, persistent, and not letting up. The bassline entwines with a powerful guitar oscillating between crunching chord work and exuberant solo flights of fancy. The keyboard layering builds to a pulsating crescendo before relaxing back to an echoed vocal and light guitar, completed by the breathless sentiment “and when we leave this town”.
Urban Vision is a thrilling adventure through swirling urban landscapes. It is astonishing in the way it succinctly captures the moods and the vibes of the lives which live within them and nothing less than seductive in the beauty of its musical expression. Nicola Lori has lovingly fashioned an album which is genuinely exceptional.
TRACK LISTING
01. Running Life (6:18)
02. Urban Vision (6:30)
03. Inside Your Thoughts (5:56)
04. A Life in This Heaven (6:04)
05. Hellios (4:53)
06. A Night in Istanbul (6:50)
07. Strana la vita (5:19)
08. It’s Looking Like April (5:18)
09. The Psychology of Persuasion (6:28)
10. Shadows of My Memories (6:19)
Total Time – 59:57
MUSICIANS
Nicola Lori – Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Ebow, Bass, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals
~ With:
Robert Aceto – Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Atmospherics (8), Narrator (10)
Nicola Alesini – Saxophone (4,7 & 9)
Giacomo Anselmi – Electric Guitar (1 & 3), Ebow (3), Guitar Solo (3)
Seneca Blakely–Armitage – Vocals (8)
Luca Calabrese – Trumpet (1,6 & 10)
Danilo Cherni – Keyboards (3 & 7), Piano (7 & 10)
Andrea Chimenti – Vocals (7)
Colin Edwin – Bass (2,4 & 6)
Luca Fareri – Drums (1,3,8 & 10)
Daniele Iacono – Drums, Percussion (2,4,5,6 & 9)
Robert Nissim – Piano (5)
Stefano Panunzi – Piano (9)
Grice Peters – Vocals (2,4 & 9), Guitar (2 & 9), Keyboards (2 & 4)
Sergio Romano – Piano (4)
Cristiano Roversi – Grand Chapman Stick (1), Bass (7)
Angelo Strizzi – Percussion (1,4,6), Acoustic Guitar (5), Drums (7)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Independent
Country of Origin: Italy
Date of Release: 4th October 2024
LINKS
Nicola Lori – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram | Burning Shed