Eris Pluvia – Third Eye Light

The previous Eris Pluvia GEPR update, stating that the new album would be released in 2008, was just a wee bit off the mark … by more than a year. Still, I can’t really complain. If it took them a little extra time to make this album sound this good, then it was well worth the wait. Because Third Eye Light is an exceptionally great piece of work.

Firstly — and this wasn’t at all evident from the previously-reviewed demo — this is a concept album. No flying saucers, dragons or rampant Gods in this concept, though. This is mature prog, and “bombastic” is the last word that will come to mind when you listen to this album. The concept is about somebody going to a “show”. At first it’s not clear what sort of “show” it is, but as the story moves along, it’s apparently a show of paintings … or maybe photographs … possibly even sculptures, or a mixture of all of the above. The songs are about the feelings being experienced while looking at the art, the reactions of others in the gallery, and the reactions of the person telling the story to the other patrons’ reactions. Finally, there’s a surprise ending. But I won’t spoil it for you. Pure poetry in lyrical form.

Musically, I’ll stick by my previous description … mostly mellow acoustic and electric guitars with a few heavier sections and lots of sweet synths, keyboards and flute (from a guest flautist who plays on most of the cuts). The vocals are almost all in English, with a noticeable Italian accent. Usually a heavy accent grates on my nerves a bit, and I’m one of those who usually says, “I wish they had just sung it in their own language.” But in this case, the accented inflections actually seem to become part of the musicality of the lyrics. These accented vocals fit perfectly with the music and I wouldn’t have them change a thing.

Don’t listen to anyone who tries to categorize this as “neo-prog“. No way. It’s very mature Italian-style prog. A casual listen might make you think this is AOR, but when you listen carefully, the complexity level is too high for that. It’s just so smoothly performed and cleanly recorded that you don’t immediately notice the “progressiveness”. I’m very impressed with Third Eye Light and highly recommend it to all lovers of the mellower end of the symphonic prog spectrum, particularly if you like the Italian style. High on my list for “best of 2010”. Check it out! — Fred Trafton