LES 3 FOUS PERDEGAGNENT - AU PAYS DES...

With the release of Les Trois Fous Perdegagnent, Etron Fou Leloublan cut down their compositions in shorter clusters, which is something that they would continue doing, and showed a definite improvement in their songwriting!

Even though it's only been a year since Batelages, the trio had already made a change in the lineup and the addition of Francis Grand did add a more prominent team player to the band's sound, especially in the Alto & Tenor sax regions. The opening composition is beautifully titled Face À L'extravagante Montée Des Ascenceurs, Nous Resterons Fidèles À Notre Calme Détermination and is quite a stunning example of the consistency that I was missing on the band's debut release. This performance is slick, energetic and quite extravagant in its style while still maintaining a clear sense of direction. The followup Le Fleuve Et Le Manteau basically carries on the tradition of the album opener while adding new layers to the overall sound.

The first side closes on Recherche Pour Un Journal, Des Lunettes, Une Pipe Et Un Bérêt that features fairly little percussion by Etron Fou Leloublan's standards up to this point while incorporating a very thick layered sound of the brass arrangements. Side two opens with the 11-minute long Le Désastreux Voyage De Piteux Python which features a much looser style, reminding me of the material featured on Batelages. P.O.I. incorporates a likewise style of its predecessor, but this time the smooth flow of the composition makes it all seem fairly pleasant to my ears. Things get especially exciting towards the last 2 minutes where the constant bass hamming riff mixed with chaotic drum and sax work really makes it a spectacle to behold!

Etron Fou Leloublan had definitely moved up a notch with this release and things would actually get even better with the next release! Still, this album is quite a juicy steak that will take quite some time to devour with the end results exceeding beyond the initial anticipations.

***** star songs: Face À L'extravagante Montée Des Ascenceurs, Nous Resterons Fidèles À Notre Calme Détermination (6:13)

**** star songs: Le Fleuve Et Le Manteau (7:49) Percutant Reportage Au Pays Des Fées (0:36) Recherche Pour Un Journal, Des Lunettes, Une Pipe Et Un Bérêt (5:54) Le Désastreux Voyage De Piteux Python (10:41) P.O.I. - Pourissement Des Organes Intérieurs (6:56)

*** star songs: Nave De Bilande (3:00)