DEUX

When fans talk about their favourite records from 70's Quebec, this duo is sadly overlooked. We have Dionne on drums, as well as Bregent on synths mainly, but piano too. There's also some guests adding horns, strings, some congas and harp. But this record is mainly drums and synths throughout. More composed stuff here when compared to the debut, which is not only my favourite from them but one of my all time favourite Electronic albums. This second record from 1977 is 44 minutes long over four tracks.

The closer is my favourite and that's in part to the piano on it. I have to say that the synths on "Deux" are right up my alley, mostly melancholic or spacey but there are two instances where they are bouncy and high pitched which have me running, but they are brief. The drums often sound booming like they were recorded in a small space. The opener "Ouverture" is good except for those bouncy synths to start but the vocal melodies are good and there's something majestic about the synths before 3 minutes. An orchestral finish.

The longest piece is "Le Prophete(Suite Fraternelle)" at almost 18 minutes. Opening with the wind blowing before atmosphere takes over, then synths lead just before 2 minutes and they are melancholic. We are off and running. Bouncy synths around 9 1/2 minutes but they are brief thankfully, as they turn melancholic. The piano later adds another flavour. "Campus" opens with drums and swirling synths but there's a complete change just before 2 minutes as we get music without electronics. It will continue to shift as this plays out over it's ten minutes. That closer I mentioned earlier is "Transit-Express" and it just sounds so good.

Again, the debut is the one to get, but clearly many prefer the direction they went on this their second album. A solid 4 stars.