VOIX DE SURFACE

3.5 stars. NIMAL rose from the ashes of DEBILE MENTHOL and both were from Switzerland, and both were led by multi-instrumentalist Momo Rossel. NIMAL's debut from 1987 was a real disappointment, coming off as a Rossel solo album. And while I consider this second release from 1990 to be much better than the debut, I still prefer DEBILE MENTHOL to this band. Avant Folk is a common reference to their sound. Ethnic with hurdy gurdy all over this plus three of the musicians play the accordion. Oh and the bouzouki!

Track three with the long title is the first to get my attention because of the rare atmosphere to start the song. It then kicks in and builds. Track seven and the second longest title impresses me for the avant sounding cello just after a minute. The last two songs which are tracks fourteen and fifteen are my favourites. This is an almost 65 minute record by the way. "Au Zoo" gets pretty intense late which I really like. Hurdy gurdy, bass and drums standout on this one. And an ethnic vibe. The closer is again dominated with hurdy gurdy but this song has plenty of depth. A great way to end it.

I'm much more impressed with this over their debut, but I'll stick with my DEBILE MENTHOL record.