LES SILLONS DE LA TERRE

Ahhh, what a time the eighties were...Reagan and Thatcher were wreaking havoc with their nation's underpriveleged and human rights in general, and artists were pissed! A lot of that frenetic dissident energy found its way into music, which gave rise to fresh impulses, as can be heard in bands like Frith's Skeleton Crew, Pere Ubu, various Zorn projects, and Etron Fou Leloublan. While I haven't yet analyzed the French texts, the music itself radiates a healthy defiance of all things comfortable, smooth or commercial. The compositions are of a rich Beefhartian jaggedness and complexity that always surprises, the sax work very original and expressive, if not expressionistic, the bass playing hard , raw, and very solid. Especially refreshing is the keyboard stripped-down to one cheesy, but very expressive organ (reminiscent of Fripp's temporarily punk stance in "Breathless" and in The League of Gentlemen), which goes to prove that "progressiveness" is about originality and substance in composition and execution, not giant stacks and endless layers of synths, etc. Couldn't call it a masterpiece (a much abused word), but a vital, challenging work that always cheers one up, if only for its sheer audacity.