L'ÉCUME DES JOURS D'APRES BORIS VIAN

MEMORIANCE were a Symphonic band out of France who released two studio albums in the seventies. The debut from 1976 is one I enjoy a lot while this the followup not so much. They replaced the keyboardist and drummer during the three year gap between albums. This is a concept album based on a Boris Vian novel and the album clocks in at just over 38 minutes spread over 15 tracks. I like how French sounding this is but I don't like how more straight forward the music is when compared to the debut and I'm just not into concept albums either.

"Preface" is a minute long instrumental intro that I wish was longer. "Colin" opens with synths as a full sound kicks in quickly. Vocals follow and there are two male vocalists trading off. Nice guitar solo after a minute as the vocals step aside for almost a minute. "Une Fille Demain" opens with piano as drums, bass and more join in. Piano and guitar lead before a minute and vocals follow as the synths come and go.

"Chloe Et Colin" starts with piano as the drums and bass join in. Guitar follows and vocals after a minute. Some spacey synths and another vocalist after 1 1/2 minutes. Then a guitar solo lights it up. I like the guitar before 3 minutes even more. "Le Nuage Rose" is acoustic guitar and fragile vocals for the most part. "Chloe" is my favourite. I just really like the sound of it as we get guitar, bass and drums as the synths come and go. An uplifting track.

"Oui Oui Oui" opens with samples and organ giving this a different feel already. Church bells too followed by spoken words as samples and organ continue. Guitar, drums and church bells end it. "Le Petit Tas De Neigh" opens with piano before it explodes briefly followed by piano and atmosphere. It picks up before 1 1/2 minutes with piano leading. A calm 2 minutes in with floating organ and synths. Vocals, piano and more after 3 minutes.

"Une Femme Si Bete" has some nice bass in the intro with guitar and a beat. The guitar starts to solo before a minute. Piano to the fore then guitar. Vocals around 2 minutes and they sound mono-toned. It's light with dual vocals after 3 minutes. "Le Nenuphar" has pulsating sounds along with guitar, bass and more as reserved vocals join in. "Diagnostic" is less than a minute of pulsating sounds and processed vocals.

"Renvoye" features some uptempo guitar before the drums and bass join in. The guitar starts to solo over top as the piano joins in. Vocals before a minute. I do like the aggressive guitar around 2 minutes. "La Chambre" is less than a minute of spoken processed vocals. "Virs Une Ile" ends it and it begins with piano as picked guitar and synths take over before a minute. Drums and a fuller sound follows at 1 1/2 minutes. Guitar to the fore after 2 minutes followed by vocals. Atmosphere and bass after 3 minutes as it calms down but then some passionate vocals arrive turning smoother to end it.

It might help a lot if I knew French as far as the concept goes but 3 stars feels just right.