4U-9525

After their 2011 "Premières vibrations", the French band La Théorie des Cordes returns in 2023 with a new album. Stéphanie Artaud/piano, prologue, Mathieu Torres/bass, electric guitar, Hugo Lemercier/mandolin, acoustic guitar and Heiva Arnal/drums return with the work "4U-9525" and right from the beginning it can be said that the wait was worth it.

The twirling piano wraps bewitching melodies, carried by guitars with a velvety touch. Far from being simplistic, the underlying rhythms also contribute to the growing interest that emerges over the minutes, the latter being reinforced by the regular breaks that dot each title. The beauty is that this work requires that time and attention be dedicated to it and that the listener ultimately remains totally immersed and absorbed in it for the whole duration. Only in this way will you be able to savor each passage, without losing the leitmotif of listening which gradually and progressively becomes more demanding over the minutes but at the same time, with the (inevitable) increase in emotional involvement, even more interesting and enjoyable. Of this record I like first of all the complex but extremely balanced writing, usable and without unnecessary burdens, the variations on the musical themes that recur during the listening giving a comfortable feeling of continuity, the captivating design of the melodies, the choice of arrangements and finally of the sound registers.

An incredible atmospheric story that has a special and enchanting touch is quite hypnotizing in its introduction to the world of high-quality sonic landscapes. The compositions possess brilliant tempo changes, walks in jazz fusion realms, progressive moments, and small hints of alternative rock, making this work a unique and very interesting journey. Attention is also drawn to alternating moments that are now calm and more aggressive. There is no lack of melodramatic atmospheres and the music sometimes veers towards almost psychedelic territories with the rhythms in evidence. At certain moments, it gets tense, growling bass lines, jazzy piano patterns, various playful to excessive guitar escapades, and the massive drums often connect in the foreground, leading to an extremely entertaining, lively and colorful phase. In the mentioned moments, the album moves a little away from the jazzy eclectic phase, to give space to greater research, sometimes bordering on the avant-garde. Then, the sounds, even those that at first might appear powerful, seem to soften and at times even dose off. All these elements come together in an elegant and often introspective musical form, melancholic and often introverted.

Music, technically and emotionally is at the highest level. Anyone who manages to enjoy these compositions in peace should have found a companion for many years to come.

La Théorie Des Cordes is the French jazz rock band with Mathieu Torres M'Z at the helm; this 2nd album features the logbook of suicidal pilot Andreas Lubitz, of Germanwings flight 4U-9525 which crashed with 149 people; good whether you are a Bokononist or not the titles are supposed to get you to the final station without too much risk; rock, prog, jazz, RIO, Canterbury, hard, avant-garde, ambient, gently musical madness.

'YYC' - Blanc de Calgary for a languorous piano declination with the addition of the guitar which rises in a frenetic crescendo. 'HKG' - Serra 'Subway' Low Summer Cancer as an appetizer; the jazzy drums announce the color for a bewitching melancholic digression; the free-jazz-rock guitar points to wild, breathtaking Al Di Meola. 'LAX' - The death of the Buddhist with the overriding bass roaring from the speakers, a sign of the pilot's last moments of lucidity? A moment of introspection or irremediable drift. 'ALP' - The colossus of Anatolia jazz-rock, oriental sounding, heavy rise with this bewitching guitar putting in trance; a more aggressive title surfing on Zappa; the last minute? furious madness hard challenging. 'CDG' - Need for speed again this disconcerting jazz-rock frame due to a rise associating a variation; when the notes intertwine. '???' - The laws of attraction or doubt is no longer allowed; the dark declension reminds 'Sorcerer' of Tangerine dream, a bit of psyche à la Pink Floyd and here we are in the final trajectory; passengers were aware at the time? Ask the musical notes, the angst is noticeable. 'DBA' - The big hotels whether or not you like this musical genre, it becomes scabrous given the intensity provided; the plane dives, the controls are blocked, the passengers panic, move in the plane but cannot make it resume a normal curve; the jazz associated with the madness of a man who wanted to become famous in an ephemeral way? angry guitar, the dive; 8 minutes not to listen to if you have lost a friend in this flight, otherwise it is twirling and sickly enjoyable. 'BCN' - Terminal soaring for the final fall or the impossible hope of seeing it rise again? How notes can accommodate each other and show this is what Mathieu did. 'DHS' - There will be nothing left where the shock, the fumes, the explosion, the end without detour.

La Théorie Des Cordes, Stéphanie, Hugo and Heiva accompanying Mathieu for a particular journey guiding us on a jazz rock fusion base to hurry; an alternation of soft moments with aggressive, unstructured flights; apart from this traumatic episode why not sit down, listen and imagine that we are all currently in a huge plane out of control and savor the last moments of our musical life?(3.5)