Invisible

Drummer and vocalist Nick D’Virgilio has been a professional musician since at least the mid-1990s. A few years back, he toured as a drummer and bandleader with Cirque Du Soleil. When he arrived for his first rehearsals, he realized that he’d be hidden in a booth with only video screens to let him see the performers and the audience. And they’d never see him. He felt invisible.

D’Virgilio turned that experience into his new solo album, an album about finding one’s place in the world. Invisible is a concept album with recurrent lyrical and musical themes. The four-note motif of the song, “Where’s the Passion,” for example, also shows up in the album’s orchestral prelude, in the intro to the first song, and again in the finale, “I Know the Way.” This repetition suggests that this is a key idea to understanding the album as a whole.

While Invisible could be seen as merely a suggestion for people to find their own path and become the person they were meant to be, there are hints that D’Virgilio’s passion has a decidedly Christian side to it. Subtle biblical references and a clear arc to the story that could divide the album into pre- and post-conversion (with “Where’s the Passion” as the dividing line) suggest that this could be a story of faith. Aside from the fascinating lyrics, the playing and singing are top-notch and the variety of styles presented in this album make it a sonic treat as well. Invisible is an album well worth spending time with. (Sweetwaterstudios.com)