ET CETERA

Some years ago i was talking to a friend from Guatemala whose radio show i used to listen everyweek since we have alike tastes and the show was a prog one of course, he told me , Memo have you listened to Et Cetera? the answer was no and he didnt hesitate in saying that i should get their album because i would like it.

Said and done, i got their music and pff, i was pleased since the very first moment. So there was this unique band from Quebec, knowing some other superb bands from Quebec (Maneige or Harmonium) i knew this would not let me down. I dont really know their bio or history, i just know they decided to make a project of just one year, when they created their music and only self-titled album.

That is how i came up with this album, which features 7 songs and a total time of 37 minutes. Kicking off with Et La Musique Tourne, is not a secret (if you have read the previous reviews) that Gentle Giant were their biggest influence, it is noticeable since the very first moments, this band combines both male and female vocals, despite the GG inspired music, there are lots of symph-keys in the album. Eclaircie starts with the guitar, then bass then drums and then vocals harmonies totally a la Gentle Giant, the difference are the female vocals and the keyboard playing, which makes this band unique and not a GG clone at all. Entre Chien Et Loup starts in a more classical way, acoustic guitars and flute giving us a great musical passage, that was just the prelude to the great vocals and odd bass playing, pure avant-gardism made properly by this quebecois band, the musical arrangements are pretty good. With Apostrophe the classical and baroque feeling is back mainly due to the additional flute sound accompanying the acoustic guitars, after that intro the song becomes led by the moog which of course makes it more symphonic oriented, there are some moments that reminds me to Yes. Newton Avait Raison is probably the song that better describes their influence, i mean this song is so GG, it is just obvious, the time and tempo along with the instrumentation, you will see what i mean when you listen to it. L`Arge Dort has a kind of dark intro, like in a horror movie scene, but almost immediately it turs softer and beautiful with a delicate violin sound along with male clean vocals, nice and comfortable music. To finish the album we have Tandem with a soft beginnign and later a bit rockier, the interplay between the instruments is wonderful, excellent closer.

So this was an excellent release by a one-album band, which as i said above shows in an obvious way their influences and inspirations, though they put their own touch in order to make this a unique piece of work. Highly recommendable, of course Gentle Giant fans must listen to this. My grade 4 stars, excellent addition to any prog lover.

Enjoy it!

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