Sensations’ Fix

When it comes to citing Italian progressive rock, it's often too easy a game. Beyond a genuinely rigorous body of work in the past, some of today's celebrated bands struggle to pass the test of time: whether it's due to the symphonic, fairy-tale takes on Crimson-esque progressive rock (Le Orme, PFM, Metamorfosi), the virtuosity borrowed from Keith Emerson (Banco, Il Balletto di Bronzo), or even the sheer difficulty of competing with the originals and thus reinventing themselves through a Mediterranean lens – don't worry, no one has forgotten the enormous contribution of Osanna or Napoli Centrale, even if they veer toward the wildest jazz-rock.
In short, comparisons with the originals often sting, and much of the scene has aged badly. And yet the underbrush of Italian-style prog-rock is far stranger than it might seem: from the doomed rock-opera style of Pholas Dactylus / Museo Rosenbach to the Canterbury-style homage of Picchio Dal Pozzo, by way of the visionary avant-garde of Opus Avantra and total unknowns – see Il Giro Strano.
In this swampy terrain blooms, like a flower in spring, an alternative outfit that even today's genre enthusiasts rarely remember.

Founded by Florentine musician Franco Falsini, Sensations' Fix – born out of an unintentional misspelling – were genuinely captivated by the kraut-rock trends of the time, somewhere between the meditative calm of Popol Vuh, the dreamy energy of Neu! and the nocturnal atmospheres of Tangerine Dream. With drummer Keith Edwards and bassist/sound-effects man Richard Ursillo on board, Falsini wrote and put together from scratch several sketches and demos that would end up on the band's first official album, released by Polydor in 1974. Looking at the cover of "Fragments Of Light" – especially the lo-fi version found on the 1994 CD pressing – one can immediately sense the record's singular aura: a diffuse glow, a nostalgic sunset ringed by leaden clouds, a landscape in the distance, and a caption in the bottom right corner reading "If the loser finds the receiver became a winner" (transl. "Se il perdente trova il ricevitore diventa un vincitore") make up the iconic artwork credited to veteran Milanese designer Mario Convertino – a key figure of the Italian progressive scene of the early 1970s – and to Carla Pallini, photographer of almost all the band's subsequent covers.

The opening title track welcomes the listener warmly with a psychedelic folk guitar: suddenly a gripping surge emerges, spotlighting Falsini's embryonic synthesizer, which teleports us into deepest space; halfway through the track, a shamelessly kraut solo takes over the whole composition. The surreal "Nuclear War In Your Brain", a forerunner of the lysergic atmospheres found on Falsini's solo album "Cold Nose (Naso Freddo)" (Polydor, 1975), marries ambient refinement with tender ambient digressions. The same goes for the alienating "Space Age Energy" and the progressive "Life Beyond Darkness".
"Music Is Painting In The Air" is regarded by fans as the band's signature song: an unmatched piece of space rock made in Italy, honed through a romantic psychedelic-ambient pairing very much in the vein of Cluster. Certain sonic passages seem to anticipate by a decade or so the ethereal effusions typical of shoegaze. No less notable is the proto-indie rock of "Do You Love Me", the first track on the album sung entirely by Falsini, boasting an excellent use of backing vocals.
The innate influence of Sensations' Fix has often been snubbed by Italian critics, largely due to an attitude enamored with foreign trends and, above all, a radical detachment from the traditional Italian format.

And yet Falsini's total escape from the schemes and conventions rampant in Italy at the time gave rise to his ingenious character, soon poured into standout compositions and devoted tributes to German cosmic music.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

03/06/2026