Mindfeels-XXenty

Art Of Melody Music/Burning Minds Music Group
2017

Lead by vocalist Davide Gilardino and featuring the services of skilled drummer Italo Graziana (Soul Seller), Italian AOR band Mindfeels has been active in one form or another since 1994. Originally known as Dejanira, with Italo Graziana serving as one of the group's co-founders alongside Luca Carlomagno (guitars, keyboards, violin) and Roberto Barazzotto (bass), Mindfeels started out in life playing Toto covers before making the switch over to all original compositions. Jump forward a few years and Mindfeels is just now seeing all of the hard work and dedication pay off in the form of a full-length debut. Released back in mid-November of 2017, the self-produced "XXenty" is the end result of that long journey. Starting off with the smooth soft rock of "Don't Leave Me Alone", this 11-track album is well-written and features superb performance courtesy of true professionals. With guest keyboards from Christian Rossetti, "XXenty" also serves as a fresh new start point for this up-and-coming AOR band that just might be trying to be Italy's version of Toto! If the group's full-length debut album is any indication, Mindfeels is not quite up to the gold star standards set by Toto, but damn if they aren't on their way! Obviously fans of Toto will want to check out this Italian band. The same goes for AOR fanatics. Given time to grow into their own skin, "XXenty" could be the first step towards something amazing in AOR. The talent is all there and so is the enthusiasm. At the end of the day I've got to big give props to this Italian outfit for trying their best! This band has a lot of potential and I look forward to what comes next.