11

'Onze'('11') is the 10th studio album (and 11th if counting 'Denude', a group of acoustic renditions of songs from the previous albums) by a French prog rock ensemble Lazuli. Symbolically, the record consists of eleven compositions, all written by the singer-guitarist Dominique Leonetti. His brother, Claude, has done all the mixing, mastering and arranging work on the album. 'Onze' is the first album with new lead guitarist Arnaud Beyney. Also, like the artwork and cover design.

Some info from theprogressiveaspect.net on the circumstances in which the album was created: ' In the foreword to the new album, frontman/singer/composer Dominique 'Domi' Leonetti gives an extremely poetic and emotional account of the past period. A period dominated by the pandemic and, although horrific in nature and scope, but in which it also seemed that a new era had begun; one of peace, love and recovery for people, animals and nature, with even a glimmer of hope that this would lead to rethinking and, who knows, even a better world. But that hope is soon shattered, we are fully back in the rat race that determined our lives before the pandemic. '

1. Sillonner des océans de vinyles (5:03) is very acoustic to start, slow tempo and quiet. The sound is moving in ocean waves manner. Marimba is a nice touch, it adds to the atmosphere, creating that dreamy/mysterious feel. After a couple of verses, near the 3 minute mark, a good leode solo, very atmospheric. The melody fades till the end of the song. A pleasant start to an album (9,25/10) .

2. Triste carnaval (5:03) Simple but effective intro, continuing with the dreamy feel. Like the vocals here, very gentle. Intricate passages in the first verse are changed by the rocking ones in the chorus and next verse. Some nice variations on the core melody. At 4 minutes we get the spacey leode solo supported by guitars, which soon returns to the main theme for an ending. The most accessible song on the album? (9,5/10)

3. Qui d'autre que l'autre (4:36) is very dark to start. Like the guitar and leode passages that come and go around the keyboard root notes. A pause of silence before new melody is presented after the second verse followed by leode and guitar solos. I quite like the flow of this track (9/10) .

4. Égoïne (5:22) is way brighter than all of the preceding songs. Acoustic guitar intro accompanied with french horn playing (with some effects?) by Romain. The guitar and leode melodies into the chorus are loud and intense. The chord build up near the 3rd minute is an interesting decision. A good song, one of the best here actually (9/10) .

5. Lagune grise (5:21) is just acoustic guitar and vocals to start. It is a nice melody. Lead guitar and bass join later. The feel is melancholic, slow tempo. For a moment everything gets quieter to just vocals and acoustic guitar but eventually grows into a fine leode solo, which is a definite highlight of the song, in my opinion. The song is nice but pales in comparison to previous four (7,5/10) .

6. Parlons du temps (5:05) melancholic keyboard and drum intro. The bass also has its moments here. The chorus melody is not very different from the verse one, it is in the same tempo and has the same melancholic vibe, so I do not think that was a good decision, The song is fine, it just does not stand out for me, at least in this running order (7/10) .

7. Le pleureur sous la pluie (5:04) keyboard intro followed by delicate vocals and bass accompaniment. Some playful guiar lines in the verse melody. Chorus melody is full of melancholic leode passages. I dig the vocal build up and a brief pause before the fuller sound. The second verse contains more leode notes with that playful guitar. Another vocal build up which soon gives ground for a brilliantly melodic guitar solo. Love the soundscape here too, drums come to the fore, picking up the tempo in the end. One of the best songs on the album and my personal favourite (10/10) .

8. Les mots désuets (3:09) is just fragile vocals and acoustic guitar, which create simple but quite beautiful melody. It has that French chanson quality to it. It is a nice little song (7,5/10) .

9. La bétaillère (4:05) is different, starts with French horn sounds followed by heavy orchestration, almost brutal really. Guitars, bass and leode with horn and heavy drumming make a huge sounding, thunder-like melody. A quieter moment before 3rd minute with mild passages, brief pause of silence... then we get the craziest sounding leode solo, which ends the song. To my mind, this is the most rock sounding track on the record (8/10).

10. Mille rêves hors de leur cage (6:20) is a ballad with a pleasant melody to it. Piano and drums take the lead in establishing the ground for beautiful vocal performance by Dominique. The melody is moving slowly but firmly. The 'airy' leode, nice bass and Barnavol's brushes are effective in development of the main theme. Around 4:30 mark we get a nice melodic change on the keyboards, then return to the main theme for a fading conclusion. A feel good song, maybe a bit long, but I don't care that much (8,75/10) .

11. Le grand vide (5:11) a quiet and tender piano composition with vocals and marimba joining in. The overall mood is predominantly sad. It slowly fades away, in repetition. Very atmospheric. The song is calm but still impressive. A moody end to a moody album (8/10) .

'Onze' is a collection of songs soaked with atmospheric, moody, melodic music with poetic lyrics which reflect the period of COVID-19 pandemic. What I like the most about this record is its variety - the different moods, melodies, tempo, which always move and eventually evolve into other ones. I have to admit that 'Onze' is less rocky than 'Le fantastique envol de Dieter Böhm' and perhaps has a lesser amount of surprising lead guitar melodies. However, the vocal performances and production might be better on '11'.

This record was not as easy to get into as the previous one, may need several listens, but once it clicks with you - it won't let go!