CEUX DU DEHORS

The exploration of blending classical chamber forms with rock instrumentation and elements continues. This, Uzed's third album release, is, in my opinion, so far, the band's most diverse and accessible album.

1. "Dense" (12:26) definitely constructed to be danceable, the pacing and spacing conjure up a whole stage of pitter-patting and flitting ballet dancers. Full rock complement of drums and bass does nothing to hurt this music. In fact, it would be impossible to establish the baseline insistently frenetic pace without them. And, most surprising, is the overall Moulin Rouge feel to the music: none of the dark, somber sound and mood here. Even the slow accordion-driven section in the fifth minute retains some element of human positivity (like "rest"). The cor anglais work in the sixth minute is my favorite: I can see the solo ballerina dancing her ever-increasing expenditure of radiating energy as the instrument proceeds, with other dancers slowly rejoining on stage as the horn gives way to the rest of the returning band members. At 8:45 there is a sudden build and cut, leaving a dark, quiet, passage of ambivalent tension. This carries on for two minutes before horns and strings rejoin with a repetition of upward-climbing spirals of chords and melody notes--all occurring over the still-insistent pulsing bass lines. (22.75/25)

2. "La Corne du Bois des Pendus" (8:42) opens with an ancient feeling with hurdy gurdy/harmonium and woodwinds before monastic like wordless choir vocals join in. Reset and harmonium and reeds take another round. Round and round these two motifs go until around 3:30 strings get a pop--in the absence of the rhythm tracks. Reeds join in and then back off for solo choir "ahhs" before recorded crowd noises fill the foundational space for harmonium and strings to play some very discordant, disturbing music. At the six-minute mark church organ sweeps everything else away for a solo shot. It is then joined by oboe and viola and then bass as the music builds and peaks at the very end of the eighth minute--and stays there for the rest of the song! I am such a sucker for replications of "ancient" pre-classical musics that I find myself totally immersed in this beautiful, nostalgic song. It's like taking a walking journey through the 15th century section of Rennes or the like. (19/20)

3. "Bonjour Chez Vous" (3:52) listening to this from the year 2023 I can honestly say how little the band has changed in 30 years as this song could very easily have come off of the band's 2010 masterpiece, Clivages. (I know they went through their phase of experimenting with electronic instruments with 2042's Implosion but you know what I mean.) Here they are more upbeat than is typical of the band. The use of classically-established chamber music forms and motifs feels like a direct link to the music of 21st Century genius, Olga Podgaiskaja (Rational Diet, Five-Storey Ensemble). (8.75/10)

4. "Combat" (12:53) militaristic drums are paired up with electric bass over which reeds and strings create their unbridled chromatic chord progressions. At the one-minute mark there is suddenly a stoppage, a quiet before the impending storm, which is slowly filled by a slow-build return of the militaristic elements and accompanying idiosyncratic groups and individuals. Fascinating! In the fourth minute one can feel the coagulating esprit de corps. Amazing! (23.5/25)

5. "La Musique d'Erich Zann" (3:29) like a soundtrack to a particularly frightening scene in a F.W. Murnau film. Strings alone--and principally one violin. Very effective. (9/10)

6. "La Tete du Corbeau" (3:11) now hear is the macabre sound that I'd come to expect from Uzed! Coming from a low end ascending scale, repeated over and over, measure after measure, contrasted with another group of instruments playing minor descending melodies. Almost like a mathematical study! (9/10)

7. "Triomphe des Mouches" (5:36) tension from a sustained harmonium chord is toyed with by treated piano notes and before "Jaws"-like riff enters at the very end of the second minute. Harmonium, piano, and violins create a syncopated rhythmic fabric of music over the top of the pulsing bass instruments' notes. Interesting if different. Exaggerated breathing/groaning voices join in before a percussive bridge to more frenetic harmonium (at least two harmonia!) and piano play reach new heights of tension. The flies win! How terrifying! (8.75/10)

Total Time: 50:09

After two albums, the UZed sound and prevailing dark mood no longer come as such a shock. For some reason, I find the songs of Ceux du dehors to be the most accessible and enjoyable collection of the band's discography.

A-/five stars; a masterpiece of Avant Garde/RIO music but also a continued reminder to all prog rockers of the potentialities of their genre of music. In my opinion, Univers Zero is essential listening for all musicians proclaiming a desire to carry the torch of true progression in modern music.