“So close to heaven” by Lionville, Frontiers Music S.r.l.
The release of Lionville’s fifth album, “So close to heaven” with Frontiers Music S.r.l. is scheduled for 11 February 2022. The title suggests a desire to rise, to get closer to the sky and never fall and in fact, most of the songs are “upward”, you have the perception of increasing energy. “This Time nothing can’t stop me anymore” is the motto of the fast-paced piece that enthusiastically opens the work. This Time is a hymn to hope, enhanced by the duet between Lars Safsund and Robbie LaBlanc. It’s about the commitment to give oneself once more the chance to learn to fly, despite the failed attempts of the past. The verses/chorus alternation highlights the debate between painful experiences and the desire to go back to believing in the future and in life.
The choice to anticipate the release of the album with the single Cross My Heart, certainly the most touching and powerful song of “So close to heaven”, must not have been accidental. The song immediately enters your head and is characterized by a melody in perfect Lionville style. “Never surrender, never give up”, says the refrain: even, in this case, the message is of great positivity and strength. In this song, as in many others, the solos of the electric guitar are full-bodied and full of lyricism.
The World Is On Fire is lighter and more danceable, with romantic features, and largely takes inspiration from the atmospheres of 80s melodic rock. True romance, however, comes with Can’t Live Without Your Love, a composition that speaks of forgiveness with a simple text that reaches straight to the heart.
True Believer, the first single that anticipated the album’s release at the end of 2021, has a catchy pop-rock melody and an essential arrangement. A perfect song for a trip by car, while driving with the desire to escape and to dream. The love song with a capital L, however, is We Are One: the title says it all and in the text of the song there is no lack of classic phrases that lovers repeat to each other. However, nothing sounds trivial, perhaps because those feelings never stop to be inspirational and always involve those who, at least once in their life, have lived them.
The romantic break ends with Only The Brave, a piece with a sound rich in mischievous and intriguing nuances, with a more “bad” guitar and a beautifully refrain, interpreted in chorus, which this time praises the courage not to give up on defeats.
There is a hint of desperation in Angel Without Wings but sadness is also in this case conceived as something to be overcome with determination. The wingless angel, an incredibly sensual woman, inspires this tormented motif and the torment is that of those who want something with all their strength. I’ll Be Waiting Tonight seems to be linked to the previous one and is the song dedicated to those who know how to wait for the most beautiful things.
There is also room for a cover song: Arrow Through My Heart was composed by Richard Marx, Fee Waybill, and Bruce Gaitsch for Marx’s “Repeat Offender” album. In the original version, the singer’s high voice, with its pungent vibrato, was more prominent. Here, on the other hand, teamwork prevails and the sound is overall more aggressive.
Lastly, the title track arrives, So Close To Heaven: the rhythm accelerates again and the mood becomes joyful, interspersed with seductive instrumental parts. The arrangement is an emotional crescendo to the conclusion.
Laura Mancini
