Maserati

It’s anyone’s guess what the songs on Inventions for the New Season mean, and, by design, the rock group Maserati doesn’t offer vocals as explanation. Instead, the Athens quartet plays eight wordless themes, each running between four and nine minutes. One track, “Synchronicity IV,” takes its cues from the Police’s “Synchronicity II,” but offers laconic reflections instead of supercharged arena rock. Its songs borrow liberally from the past; a bio of the band identifies “mid-to-late 70s Pink Floyd, German psych-rock, Krautrock and mid-80s action film scores.” Missing, however, is a lead guitarist with David Gilmour’s (or even Robert Fripp’s) exuberance. Each Maserati member stays in the pocket, building on epic rhythm showcases notable for their imaginative tempo changes as well as their lack of solos. Somehow, in spite of individual performances that rarely stand out, the band’s songs are infused with a collective personality. Inventions for the New Season may not have any screeching guitar anthems, but it’s got heart. 4 stars