PLAT DU JOUR

Reminiscent at that point of a looser and less fussy version of mid-1970s King Crimson with influences from Zeuhl, Canterbury, and jazz fusion, Plat du Jour's self-titled album is an intriguing obscurity which combines various challenging strands of 1970s progressive rock into a single cohesive sound. I don't think it's an unalloyed masterpiece, but it's a strong piece of work whose obscurity is thoroughly undeserved. Guitarist Vincent Denis is the most immediately impressive member of the band, but most of his bandmates put in a strong performance too.

It doesn't quite resonate enough with me to get an unalloyed recommendation, mind. Some might find the production values mildly off-putting, and though the sound of the album is quite diverse, in some respects this ends up working against it - it often feels unfocused, and the band seem to touch on a range of styles without carving out a distinctive identity for themselves. Still, it's a very strong three star number that's worth a listen if you are into avant-prog from this period.