ÂMES VAGABONDES

The debut album from this French outfit has its appeal, but is rather limited in its scope; despite there being over an hour of music on the album, there is precious little variety, either tonally or compositionally. That said, nothing on the album is particularly bad (except some awful vocal passages), but nothing is outstanding either, save one thing: The lead guitar work is some of the freshest and best I've heard lately, and I love the tone.

"Astrodelica" No steady build greets the listener- right from the first second the music is boisterous and heavy. When it tapers off, what remain are staccato organ chords and a smooth lead guitar. So this track consists of two extremes- frantic and upbeat, as well as dull and quiet.

"Le Cheval De Nébuleuses" Pairing airy synthesizer with a biting electric guitar, this lengthy track has energetic and burly vocals. The lead guitar is more or less the highlight of the piece, as the playing is both soulful and astute without becoming overly technical or pretentious.

"(Il A Neigé Sur) Pluton" A pleasant, clean electric guitar accompanies a thick vocal. It gets heavy on the synthesizer later on, with a full and energetic sound.

"Le Songe Du Surfeur D'Argent" Quavering vocals and high-pitched whining don't really complement the music, which is somewhat similar to Genesis.

"Ici" Soft synthesizer and piano serves as the velvety bed for gentler vocals. It sounds rather similar to music that one might hear while on hold with customer service- inoffensive but hardly inspiring.

"Au Domaine Des 3 Collines" The lengthiest track opens up like 1980s Rush, with a spacious and slightly-distorted guitar, a laidback rhythm, and breathy synthesizer. The organ sets it apart, however, and the composition is well situated in the symphonic rock neighborhood. The middle of the piece involves a lush passage with several synthetic instruments (speaking of Rush, it quite reminds me of "Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres").

"Un Petit Empire" While this piece begins softly, it quickly becomes a full endeavor, with some great electric guitar work over a bright organ. The guitar and piano interplay later on is simply stunning. The vocals are at their most beautiful (instead of coming across as hokey and forceful).

"Rideau!" A series of diminished chords and a somewhat eerie vocal (with strange effects applied) begin the final track. These vocals are theatrical and exaggerated, almost sounding like something out of a bizarre musical.