LE CIMETIÈRE DES ARLEQUINS

Ange's follow up for Caricatures sees them sticking to the same dramatic and gloomy sound, half of it created by murky production values and the other half by too much mellotron. No, sorry, that's not possible, there's no such thing as too much mellotron!

The album starts with the Jacques Brel cover Ces Gens Là, an appropriate choice given the influence of that Belgian 'chansonnier' on their music. Ange sounds as a marriage between King Crimson's early albums and French chanson, very epic and theatrical, executed by excellent musicianship and the most passionate vocals since Peter Hammill.

Next on is my favorite track Aujourd'hui c'est la fête, short and rocking, swift and dynamic, or how to be prog in 3 minute 30 seconds. The following couple of songs is meant to form some kind of unity but it's a bit amateurish, basically they're fading out Bivouac, then doing a short ballad and ending by fading in the remainder of Bivouac. Luckily the songs are just fine.

De Temps en Temps is probably one of their best known songs, it sounds like another Jacques Brel cover. Not bad but a bit predictable maybe. The short and intimate Route au Cyprès is better, it's just an acoustic pop song really but a very beautiful one. The album ends with the powerful and dramatic Cimetière des Arlequins, the longest and best composition on the album.

I have a personal preference for the debut which rocked harder and had the better songs, but you could as easily argue that this album is a bit more varied and mature. Regardless of personal preference, both albums are excellent symphonic prog. If you love In the Court of the Crimson King, early VDGG and Genesis you shouldn't hesitate.