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Rating: I think I have an innate attraction to bands with absurd or simply silly names. Like these Avec Le Soleil..., a combo that includes members from the Canadian scene of the past 20 years (Le Fly Pan Am, Set Fire To Flames and others) who usually explore the shadowy zone between post rock, folk, and ambient in various and differing degrees, starting with the pioneers Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Bands that make a sense of community and political commitment focal points of their releases, a characteristic that is almost anachronistic in the generalized escapism of the current North American rock scene.
The group does not sound as one might expect from the above data, and certainly does not favor brightness as an adjective attributable to their music (just to bring up the band's moniker). In fact, the guys navigate the rough and sharp terrain of a funk with kraut rhythms, almost post-punk in some cases, and with a pleasant psychedelic yearning. To be concise, they are like Talking Heads in an amphetamine and sometimes lysergic rush. As lysergic as the album's tracklist, divided into three macro-suites: “Trans-pop Express” (funky and simultaneously cosmic), “Alizè et Margaret D. Midi moins le quart” (minimalist but at times almost hard core) and the 5 tracks that make up “Tourner incessantement dans l'éclatement euphorique de soi.” (funk, electronic trinkets, and a bit of fundamental prolixity).
An album and a band that are products of these hectic and schizoid years, take it or leave it. But long live Canada!
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