Songs From the Lighthouse (2008). With their 2008 release Songs from the Lighthouse, Italian band Moongarden have created a highly appealing album. Symphonic rock is the name of the game on this one; most compositions dominated to a greater or lesser extent by layered keyboards and synths, creating dreamlike atmospheres easy to sink into and soothing for the mind. Some nice guitarwork adds a lot to the tunes, the acoustic guitar being chosen just as often as the electric guitar; the last which is used to good effect to create haunting and epic atmospheres in chosen parts in selected tunes. What ties many of the songs together are the vocals though, in tunes like My Darkside and Dreamlord the slightly gritty but also fragile-sounding and melodic vocals very similar to Seal adds a lot to the tune, often covering over weaknesses in composition…

There are artists and musical - or, more generally, artistic - projects that transcend each person's personal tastes, because of their objective importance inside a given scene. Within the 'progressive rock made in Italy' panorama, from the '90s to our days, in light of the quality and impact of their productions, Moongarden, led by multi-instrumentalist and music producer Cristiano Roversi, rightfully fall among the fundamental bands. With an impressive back catalogue and after a four year break, Moongarden have created an album that makes its apparent simplicity one of it main strengths, and that succeeds in accompanying the listener on a musical journey that one would like to never end…