Rome are a Luxembourgish neofolk band founded in November 2005 as a main output for the songs of Jérôme Reuter. Though Reuter is the main creative force in the band, he performs live with a range of musicians who also contribute performances on various studio recordings. Reuter has been a prominent supporter of Europe throughout his career and especially Ukraine, having played numerous shows in various Ukrainian cities on his European tours before and during the current conflict. Indeed, his appearances have been used to gather donations for a refugee shelter in Lviv. His last release was ‘Gates of Europe,’ a concept album on Russia’s ongoing assault on Ukraine. He returns at the end of this month with a mini album `World In Flames` which is a dissection of the modern world.
The album opens with `Vol de Nuit` or Night flight which is a gentle orchestrated piece that runs at under a minute and bleeds into the following track `First We Take Berlin` which has a kind of underlying marching drum cadence and vocals that are almost spoken word but have an underlying sense of inevitability of an austere situation that seems on the horizon. There appears to be plenty of analogies between what the narrator perceives to be currently happening in mainly Europe with what transpired around the rise of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and the ideals it proposed and supported.
`Submission` has an almost waltz like vibe and hints at obedience and surrender to a destructive force unless we take note and resist. A strummed acoustic guitar and vocals lead us through `Eagle Wings` an anthemic composition. In the Bible, the wings of an eaglesignify the strength of God applied to us so maybe it`s a metaphor as a winged eagle is said to represent or imply inspiration, release from bondage, victory, and longevity.
`Todo es Nada` may mean all or nothing. A Latin flavoured acoustic composition that feels like a call to arms to rise up against a perceived aggressor. Title track `World in Flames` guides us out and it`s a tender instrumental piece that is simple in presentation but has an underlying sense of unease, apprehension and possibly despondency.
`World In Flames` may only run at around twenty minutes in length but there is so much to take in musically and lyrically, it can almost feel overwhelming. There is a worrying rise of right-wing and far-right parties in the Europe especially and Jérôme expresses some of the fears that abound if this situation is left unchecked.
We are not being spoon feed here but for me what is left unsaid, can be more relevant and worrying.
