Ones and Zeros Reloaded is the latest release from Italian musician/composer Saro Cosentino, a guy who has been actively involved in many projects over the years since the 1970's. What you have here is a sampling of some of the best tunes from his Ones and Zeros album, with the inclusion of a new single "Real Life", a catchy ambient/pop/prog tune featuring the soaring vocals of Karen Eden. Cosentino handles the bulk of the guitars, keyboards, and programming, with an all-star cast helping out that includes Cristinao Roversi, Gavin Harrison, Tim Bowness, Shankar, John Gilbin, Trey Gunn, David Rhodes, Jakko Jakszyk, Peter Hammill, and many others. The Van Der Graaf frontman Hammill lends his intoxicating lead vocals to the dreamy, atmospheric "Phosphorescence" as well as the ominous, Middle Eastern tinged "From Far Away", while Bowness adds his melodic touch to the ambient strains of "Days of Flaming Youth". Eden is the revelation here, her soaring vocals on "Bite the Bullet" and the single "Real Life" really showing a star in the making, and her angelic crooning on "Behind the Glass" is a thing of beauty. Nice to see some King Crimson alumni here, though don't expect daring arrangements like what we expect from the prog legends, as Cosentino & company are more concerned with creating moods and textures to go along with shimmering pop hooks than bombast. That in itself is perhaps one of the only negative things I can say about Ones and Zeros Reloaded; it's a 'nice' enough album, though a bit 'one-note' and safe. Not a lot of excitement to be found, but some cool ambient sounds, plenty of melodies, and solid instrumentation make up a listenable, though certainly not earth shattering album.
Track Listing
1) Real Life
2) Phosphorescence
3) Days of Flaming Youth
4) From Far Away
5) Bite the Bullet
6) Behind the Glass
7) Defying Gravity
8) 9:47 PM Eastern Time
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