If you read even occasionally this blog, you should know how much I appreciate Celeste and their mastermind Ciro Perrino, a gifted composer and musician that never stops his artistic evolution. When it comes to Celeste, once a quintessential Italian prog band, since the late 2010s he's trying to expand the musical boundaries of such a glorious act. Their 2025 album, titled "Anima Animus" continues this effort and offers a varied palette of sound solutions that range from jazz to melodic without even neglecting ethnic suggestions. That said, Maestro Perrino will maybe forgive me if I choose the most Celestial (in all senses) of the album's songs, the closing Moon And Cloud Dancing, a delicate but never boring 12 minute instrumental (with some vocalizations) track.
This is the sixth Celeste album overall.
First things first, I love the main theme here, a melody that is only apparently simple, which enters the heart and brain of the listener. Then please listen to the perfect fusion of the instruments: mellotron, of course, and then winds, piano, acoustic guitars... everything is designed to immerse us in slow and unstoppable natural movements. Even if this is probably the most symphonic rock song from "Anima Animus", you'll find in it several hints to Perrino's previous experiences, and that's why this track always grows in me and never cease to surprise me.
