Avril
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Fred Avril, a French musician raised under the watchful eye of the highly esteemed and revered "mammasantissima" of the French electronic scene, none other than Laurent Garnier, under the label Fcommunication. This is Avril's second album, the first being equally impressive. By taking some tracks from this and some from the other, it emerges as a solid five-star album.

The album is diverse, and as the genre varies, so does my personal judgment. We can, therefore, compare the mood to different artists, just to give an idea of what we're dealing with. For the more delicate and melancholic pieces, we cite Air for their smoothness and Sigur Rós for the psychedelic component. For the more lively pieces, I think of the electro scene around Gigolò (Dj Hell's label) but here, there's no regular kick drum and, above all, the electro is always handled with class, never mundane. These comparisons lay the foundation of the album upon which we find rock, new wave, pop, a touch of glitch, and a couple of similar ballads. There are acoustic guitars, Rhodes, and lysergic and ingenious synths, no confusion at all. All the pieces are carefully structured, and the production is at the highest levels. Adding to this is a well-conceived arrangement. Listening to it results in an album that always maintains interest, transports you, and in some cases, surprises you. I mentioned that as the genre changes, so does my judgment. Indeed, as far as I'm concerned, the one to praise and criticize (more criticize than praise...) is: the voice, both in terms of its somewhat anonymous timbre for my tastes, as common as those you find in the brit-pop scene dominated by little more than teenagers, and the voice in terms of interpretation, which I find immature, little thought out, especially compared to the quality of the pieces. Fortunately, though, there are few sung pieces, and the voice is always used sparingly. Final thought: thankfully, I didn't encounter the "already heard" feeling. There are elements in common with other groups, but everything is handled with great personality.

Here are the tracks I most recommend:

• 1. Urban Serenade (...a soft pillow...)
• 3. Room (haunting bass loop and suspended atmosphere leading to an explosion)
• 5. Power and 7. Tv Dinner (excellent electro)
• 8. Eve+++++ (...in the end, it surprises you...)
• 9. Roofless (...the call of the sirens...)

Enjoy listening!