HEUREUX !

Year after year, decade after decade Ange remains Ange. Times change, but the protagonists of French prog scene are still on the road - and still unique. Their new studio album seems to have been conceived and done under the tag 'no more time to waste'. Indeed, they wasted a lot of time during their 50-year history. Their milestones are the early glorious 'theatric progressive' era from Caricatures to Guet-Apens, then Seve Qui Peut, then Le Bois Travaille, Meme Le Dimanche. This is the classics of French prog, a bunch of masterpieces. But what was between? The fruitless rocky/poppy 1980s period from Vu D'Un Chien to Tout Feu Tout Flamme, then 1990s-2000s albums, all of interest but... of moderate interest, let's say. And finally, the current era started with brilliant Le Bois Travaille, Meme Le Dimanche, continued with less impressive but still excellent Moyen-Age - and now, with Heureux!, their brand new studio release. It was evidently made 1970s-like on purpose, it's clearly seen... sorry, clearly heard in the music. But the album is not similar to the band's 1970s releases. It's as excellent (if not better) as, for example, Au-Dela Du Delire or Par Les Fils De Mandrin, but musically far from both. It develops the tendencies started with Le Bois Travaille, Meme Le Dimanche, but also brings new ideas, so in total Heureux! is rather revelation than reminiscence. Almost every track is a highlight. (I'd say especially Nancy- Jupiter..., but maybe it's just due to my personal addiction to epic suites?) Echo from 1970s - and new musical horizons for the band at the same time. Everything sounds classic - and everything is new, fresh, innovative, inventive, explorative... and substantial. Even a risky musical experiment from Ange quickly becomes a model to follow, Christian Decamps and his colleagues know very well how to do this. Looks like the period started in 2010 in the band's life is even more interesting than expected.