What lies behind Klimt 1918’s mysterious new album?
Formed in 1999, the band consists of the three founding members Marco Soellner (guitar/keyboards/vocals), Davide Pesola (bass), and Paolo Soellner (drums), as well as guitarist/keyboardist Claudio Spagnuoli who joined in 2020 following the departure of his predecessor. In 2026, with the support of Prophecy Productions, the band announced the release of their fifth album, Àmor, after a ten-year wait.
The album opens with first track’s Dream Core and its ethereal sound which offers an intoxicating softness, but also mysterious, airy touches complemented by distant vocals, akin to the echoes of our wandering thoughts. There are a few more minimalist passages, but the band always manages to reignite the momentum until Aventine takes over, creating a break before resuming with similar tones borrowed from Post-Rock and Shoegaze. The flow of soothing dissonance slowly unfolds, finally reaching its climax just before Nihil Vltra takes its place, returning to a haunting simplicity before letting the bass unleash its infectious groove to ignite the rhythm section and create a burst of energy, giving way to Eros, where the band features Domenico Vellucci on alto saxophone. This addition allows the musicians to introduce a different element, one that is nonetheless fully in keeping with their sound before launching into Nexus, a new, dreamy track where the foundation is more energetic while the guitars continue to weave their misty sounds as usual, creating an interesting contrast much like the one found in Un été invincible, a track I could almost describe as danceable that takes over and draws us into its catchy whirlwind. The harmonics soar above us while provoking the rhythm section, which ignites before darkening for Arcade, a slightly shorter and more melancholic track that relies on a thick bass line to complement the ever-smoldering guitars in the background. Next comes Amor, the eponymous track that returns to its simple sweetness, which clouds our minds and makes the song fly by in an instant, leading into Petricore, where the vocals are slightly more solemn at the start, while eventually giving in to the lightness that has already been filling the air for quite some time. We then move on to Aftersun and its more joyful notes, which follow the same path as the previous tracks, and then the album concludes with Mountain, adopting a more majestic yet still ethereal approach to close this chapter.
Klimt 1918 was completely unknown to me until today, and together with Àmor, I’m discovering a world of infinite softness, with various ethereal and airy nuances that weave naturally into a generally quite calm backdrop. Definitely worth exploring further!
75/100