Album: Vinicio Capossela, Marinai Profeti e Balene (Ponderosa)

The Italian Tom Waits/Tom Zé/Paolo Conte (take your pick) has taken musical ambition to new heights on this long-awaited effort.

It's a two-CD concept album inspired by sea-faring tales, utilising everything from sea snails (yes, sea snails) to a vocal choir and orchestra. The songs fall into the following imagined genres, among others: vaudevillian gothic, sea-shanty punk, and toy-town tango. Ridiculous and sublime in equal measure.