EN QUETE D'UN MONDE MEILLEUR

I had big expectations for this album, I thought this would turn out to be another lost jewel, something that would turn out to be another Weidorje, Paga or Shub Niggurath in quality I mean, but as it turns out this wasn't as exciting as I hoped. So first of all let me introduce them, Honeyelk are a 5 piece band from France who have released one EP in 1979. This EP had 26 minutes of music and included two songs. In 1995 those two songs were remixed and released by Musea while adding 4 more live bonus tracks, and by this made it a worth while purchase. Honeyelk are playing in a typical french style which is a mix between Zehul, Jazz and Avant-garde. They are mostly influenced by Magma and VDGG, even the singing isn't in french, it's made up, maybe they know Kobaian or is it Honeyelkish? anyway this is one part that I do like about them, it gives the music a lot of character. The lead vocalist sounds exactly like Peter Gabriel in his sleep, mumbling and singing all kinds of weird stuff, like a weird languaged dream, personally I find the vocals to be one of their best qualities. The sound is also rich and enjoyable since there are more than just the usual instruments involved, they added Sax, Clarinet and Piano. Although it's far from being laid back, it is not heavy at all, no distorted guitars whatsoever.

Unfortunately this album puzzles me. While I do enjoy every part of it, when it ends I don't feel like this was so exceptional or groundbreaking, if I had to put my finger on it I'd say it's lack of cohesive songwriting and lack of really killer interplay. On the other hand it is never bad, not even for a second. As it seems to me the band could use a little more practice to tie up their loose ends, this is most evident in the drums department. It's either this style of music wasn't suitable for drummer Christian Blanc or maybe he didn't have so many takes when recording to get it fully right, which also means more practice together. Don't get me wrong it's not like that all the time, I'm sure some people wouldn't mind that at all, but I hear some awkward and hesitant drumming from time to time, especially when he is trying to be fast. The rest of the band is good, especially the bass player which plays some delicious hooks every now and then, and delievers a punchy deep bass sound like is popular in this genre. The main problem here is that the music does not stay on the same level all the time. It ranges from very good to mediocare but also doesn't reach any recommendable heights.

The remix version of the two main pieces sounds better and more balanced than its original version on the EP, not only the sound quality is much better but some parts were dropped and other enhanced,making this an interesting reissue. "Stoyz (Duel à Vie)" the opener is divided into three parts and it's the best track on the album. It starts very promising with an excellent rhythm, great drive from bass and drums, I wish they could have maintained it. The first part is very good with passionate vocals and a memorable sax and clarinet lead. The second part which explores a different idea, is where they don't exactly shine, the awkward drumming is more evident here and it's overall mediocare but again very good vocals. The third part unites the piece and repeats the melodies from previous parts, overall I'm satisfied. "Do Zé Vé Loy (Terres De Sagesse)" again have a great begining with some punchy slaps from bass and drums. A cool and fast bass line leads the way as the song keeps evolving, going through several ideas. The song changes half way and leads to a RIO tinged Zehulic interlude but returns to normal and doesn't bring anything new to the table. The third part is completely different, and as nice as it is it doesn't feel like a sequential continuation. I thought my CD progressed to the next track but this is still the same song. The bonus tracks doesn't save the album and are fairly different from the main pieces. They are heavy on the vocals and are much more laid back, a lot of Fender Rhodes and good atmosphere, sounds like Cos than anything else really. Again still good all the way.

Overall this is a good album and although it's not hanging in the big boys league, I still can recommend it to any of you Zehul fans, it is an album worth having to complete your collection, and I believe most of you will warmly embrace it. This is one of the best 3 stars album out there, 3.5 actually but very close to be rounded up to 4.