LE PETIT VIOLON DE MR. GRÉGOIRE

What a pleasant surprise this album has been. I really wasn't expecting a lot with this album after reading about the theatrical French singing and the strong ANGE vibe. I do like ANGE a lot but I was expecting a pale imitation. Boy was I ever off base. This is amazing ! They may have been inspired by ANGE but these guys have created something all their own.

"Le Chant Des Glaces" opens with 1 1/2 minutes of instrumental music that is impessive. It gets better. It settles with synths and drums before kicking back in. Check out the guitar and bass ! It settles again after 4 minutes to end it. Great tune. "Allons Z'enfants" is mellow with reserved vocals. It sounds so good when it kicks in after a minute.The vocals are passionate here. It settles again with vocals 2 1/2 minutes in. Themes are repeated. Just a fantastic song. "Le Publiphobe" is a short piece with floating organ and spoken words. "Solaris" has a heavy into then the keyboards and drums take over. The guitar and bass that follow are excellent. Back to the keyboards and drums to end it. Nice.

The title track is divided into three parts. "La Folie" opens with spoken words as the music comes in and builds. It turns uptempo with vocals after a minute. Synths also join in. Thmes are repeated. "De Toute Ma Haine" is fairly heavy with synths and drums. Guitar after a minute. The vocals come in when it settles. What's so cool here is that they sound like an RPI band. It's so moving after 3 minutes. Perhaps my favourite track. "Plus Loin Vers Le Ciel" opens with what sounds like the wind blowing and synths as the piano joins in. A beat follows then the vocals arrive. Flute too. The music sounds so good after 5 minutes. "La Machine A Theatre" opens with flute before synths and a beat take over. Flute returns later.

There's way too much incredible music here to give this anything less than 4 stars. Four of these tracks are amazing.