Jurtko Moerbeck: lead vocals, guitar
Daan Haeyen: guitar, flute, melodica, vocals, keyboards
Erwin van den Broeck: bass, guitar
Ruben van den Burgh: drums, vocals
Christine Vermeulen: violin, vocals

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44’30”

The name of this band suggests some Italian roots, but they are from Amersfoort. (NL) They started about ten years ago and this is their third CD.

They are a real DIY band, they wrote, played, recorded, produced, mixed and released the album. The album was recorded by Daniel, their bass player, a job that lasted over a year, so they weren’t really in a hurry. But the result is brilliant. You can’t hear the difference with professional recordings and productions. His girlfriend Laura painted the cover for the CD, so they have every skill within reach.

It’s a great album. Although you can reference to a lot of other bands from the past, it also has a touch of originality. Let’s start with the lead vocals. He has a voice that sounds like the singer of Crash Test Dummies or Sylvan. But the way he sings, sometimes in a narrative way, is more the Peter Hammill style. In some songs, he puts a lot of energy in his vocals and in others he uses it in a quiet way. Helped by the other musicians – almost all of them have vocals behind their names in the credits – it has become a very vocal album, without discriminating the music.

The flute of Daan gives the first song a very Ian Anderson feeling– sorry, I know, it’s always him – a bit from the “Crest Of A Knave” time. In other songs, he plays the flute in a less Anderson way. The violin of Christine has been put a little bit out of pitch, to give it that special sound.

The music of Poetica In Silentio is sometimes complex, maybe a bit like King Crimson, and sometimes very melodic. My favourites are “Behind The Door” and “Beggars Banquet”. In the latter, they use a lot of violin, with a very recognisable riff on a guitar with a lot of tremolo and an acoustic guitar. “Paper Ships” is a very powerful track, with a lot of anger in the vocals. Great track. “The Dance” starts off with a beautiful flute solo and is accompanied by a Melodica. It’s the longest track and the Peter Hammill feeling pops up again, so the link to Van der Graaf Generator isn’t far away. And while I’m making this review, I’m listening to this CD and I have to add Sweet Lies to my favourites. The list of best tracks becomes longer and longer. The album finishes with a ballad that could have been sung by Tom Waits.

Because of the variation, it’s hard to describe the music from this album. You have a clue if you listen to some full mp3’s of the tracks “Behind The Door”, “Luck” and “Voorbehoed” on their site www.poetica.nl. Speaking of “Voorbehoed”, it’s a strange title, isn’t it? But that’s because it’s in Dutch. I’m afraid it doesn’t go well with the other songs. I wonder what people who don’t understand Dutch think of this song.

I like this CD a lot, and as usual, with a complex album, it gets better every time you listen to it. Just listen to the mp3’s and you know what I mean.