Stairs of Life - Man in a Glass (Sliptrick Records)

Italian progsters Stairs of Life have come up with an understated gem with this unassuming little four track EP.

Heavily redolent of Steven Wilson’s Blackfield project (vocalist Luca Aldiso is a singing spit of Aviv Geffen), the soporific, woozy air created on Man in a Glass will weigh heavy on your eyelids if you come to the release after a few beers, easing you into the arms of Morpheus with it’s comforting, smooth charms.

That’s not to say anything here is boring, of course; The title track features a superb, Gilmouresque solo from Alessio Erriu, whilst closing composition Our Lady of Grace has a restrained rockingness to it that’ll shake you from your slumbers and have you out of your chair given half a chance.

You Are Gone is probably the closest the band get to ‘heavy’, with riffs and organ meshing to provide a strident backdrop to Aldiso’s thoughtful delivery, and drummer Fabio Vitiello building up a nice wall of tom tom abuse to back the whole structure up. But this is heavy as a relative term, the band never needing to resort to mere dull-minded riffage to get their point across, preferring always to let their craft and skill do the talking.

Some may see this as cookie-cutter prog, and whilst there’s certainly nothing new being added to that particular genre by Stairs of Life on Man in a Glass, there’s enough here to make this worth any prog fans time and effort – seek it out. You won’t be disappointed.