AVARIC

Like the bastard child of TRI YANN and MALICORNE that was aborted in the 5th year of it's 4 year pregnancy, Celtic folk group AVARIC appears to have achieved sufficient notoriety in its locality of Bourges to string together an impressive run between 1979 and 1983 at a time when folk rock and prog rock were in steep decline. Here the band is a quintet but my understanding is that they were eventually known mostly as the trio of Frank Lopez, Lionel Baillemont, and Jean-Marie Noël. Combining warm harmonies with earnestness, they managed the challenging feat of adapting medieval texts to traditionally inspired music while sounding as intimate and idealistic as their protest brethren of the long past decade. This debut is arrestingly mature yet playfully innocent.

The primary instruments are acoustic guitar and flute, with shards of dulcimer, and, oh, the voices, everywhere the voices, sometimes suffusing even otherwise weaker numbers with an ecclesiastical tone, or at least an impression that they were recorded in a church. Speaking of which, the production, while doubtless of limited resources, is entirely sympathetic. Most tracks are sung in French with a couple in Spanish, perhaps reflecting some of the early roots of that region. The only English number is "Out in the Garden", in which the shy fellows opt to bury their accents in the jangly folk rock mix and, like most everything here, it glitters. But for me the show stopper is "Tres Morillas", with the sweetest repeated guitar motif and near a capella verses. "Nous Etions Trois Camarades" skillfully deploys the calling card call and response of the best Breton traditions with hollow percussion and flutes. Their obsession with the number 3 culminates with the adventurous "Balladilla de los Tres Rios" that even includes eerie and portentous organ accompaniment.

Apparently this debut has not yet seen CD re-release, which has motivated asking prices to heights that the quality may not justify, but then again....Highly recommended for fans of a more studied less rambunctious take on Celtic inspired folk rock.