LUEUR

1. "Migration vers le bas" (2:35) like being out on the Serengeti watching a pride of robot lions on the hunt. (4.33333/5)

2. "S'fumato (Part 1)" (9:28) opens with a progression of sustained swirling organ chords accompanied by bass and delicate cymbal play. The progression is played for four cycles before the very pleasant, high-register voice of Nicolas Denis (reminding me very much of ROBERT WYATT) joins in. At the three-minute mark the vocals stop and the full band launch into a thick, full-spectrum, ominous motif with some awesome piano, drum, and electric guitar play (sounding almost MAGMA-esque). This is great stuff! At the end the music returns to the calm, beautiful Robert Wyatt motif. My favorite song on the album. (18/20) 3. "Cloportes" (4:00) the Frenchified cross between YUGEN and KANSAS (sans mots). Lots of piano, time shifts, stop- and-go staccato syncopation, and accordion! (8.75/10)

4. "Rolling Eyes" (5:38) starts out far more melodic and "rock-without-opposition" than I'm used to hearing from this band. It's almost got an Irish / CHIEFTANS feel to it: both in terms of sound palette and construction. Again, I am so surprised to find so many catchy, fairly mainstream melodies sneaking in and out of this--until, that is, the electric guitar goes crazy at the end of the third minute. But then things return to a BBC soundtrack All Creatures Great and Small theme feeling. The drumming and guitar playing are the main things that keep taking the fairly gentle music off the rails a bit, but then it seems to always return to Tristan's main theme. Another top three song. (8.875/10)

5. "Axe 117" (3:33) as if a factory PA buzzer has gotten stuck repeating the same pulse of a note over and over. The other sounds are as if the industrial workers are trying to decide whether or not they should continue to work (some do) or wait for clarification and instructions. The pulsing buzz stops in the third minute and the workers all go back to their industrial routines. Entertaining but hardly pop music; more cinematic in a Fritz Lang kind of way. (8.66667/10)

6. "Sfumato (Part 2)" (6:11) sounds as if KEITH EMERSON had played with a avant garde/RIO orchestra. Not a pleasant listen but impressive skills and arrangement. (8.666667/10)

7. "Wavering" (3:51) slow cinematic music befitting an early industrial Fritz Lang silent film soundtrack. I like the fairly thin weave because I can easily give my attention to the performances of each of the individual instruments. The master-and-slave ominosity remains pretty constant from start to finish. (8.75/10)

8. "La tête à l'envers" (1:49) some elements of jazz-rock fusion and classic cinematic form (and Steve Jansen-like rhythms) work their way into this music. Nice little piece. (4.5/5)

9. "Mister Chung" (2:57) an interesting weave of airy horns and synth horns and sparsely populated percussives that are popular in Asian musical forms. A motif that never changes thus giving it more of an étude feel than a full-fledged song. (4.375/5)

10. "Dartafalk" (5:44) sounds like one of those 1960s French detective film-noir soundtrack pieces. Nothing to write home about but not bad. (8.75/10) 11. "Coda (2:02) drums and bass "funk" j-r fuze, UZed style. Displaying guitarist Nicolas Dechêne's inner Allan Holdsworth. My final top three song. (4.75/5)

Total Time 47:48

B/four stars; a decent and creative UZed album though it is not my favorite album of theirs--not even my favorite of the 21st Century (that would be 2010's Clivages), but still worth your while should you like their chamber orchestral approach to cinematic avant garde/RIO.

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