Figura

Touane's second full-length album aims at a kind of prog rock narrative cycle, though on the Italian musician's own terms — instead of fairy tales about cave trolls or the like, Figura means to tell the story of a day in a life of a young woman. As the story is delivered musically rather than lyrically, following its cycle is less key to its enjoyment than simply engaging it as is, and as a series of downtempo but crisp grooves that thankfully avoids the trap of watered-down fusion suggested by the publicity around it, Figura sits comfortably with the kind of elegant electronic Euro-disco Air helped bring back into play (and then proceeded to ignore), though with less emphasis on pop hooks as such. That said, if Michel Gondry ever wanted to use some of this album as a soundtrack to a new film, it wouldn't be surprising at all. The bubbling, cyclical percussion loops and soft melodies on "Frühstück" set a strong pace at the start, though, and from there Figura takes various turns in its sonic portrait of a day, from the understated but slowly increasing pulse of "Pioggia," with soft synth stabs like occasional muted horns, to the three-part "Take Off," ranging from a found-sound collage of traffic and voices to a deft combination of beats and soft chime-like vibes. Words occasionally appear to set the mood further in line with the overall story — thus the softly heard speaking on "Di Sotto" — but this is primarily a musical experience in the end, and an enjoyable if not groundbreaking one. An unexpected touch: rather than filling out the CD length, the entire album wraps up with the full-bodied beats of "Promenade" at 53 minutes, a relative rarity in this day and age.