The Cinematic Orchestra
Ma Fleur

THE REVIEW

A sense of incompleteness hovers over this latest album by the Cinematic Orchestra. In 2007, after the successful debut "Motion", a tribute to the cinema of the 60s and 70s, and the sophisticated and difficult to listen to "Man In The Movie Camera", Jason Swinscoe's group returns with "Ma Fleur", turning the page and trying to simplify the sound, continuing a discourse that involves a certain type of audience and introducing the typical song format, enlisting collaborations such as soul vocalist Fontella Bass, folk-singer Lou Rhodes, and Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson.

The album manifests itself, first and foremost, as a more intimate and introspective work compared to previous efforts, but stylistically, it seems somewhat forcefully elaborate, with overly calm tones, catering to an audience that loves relaxing and sophisticated atmospheres but still demands a "ear-friendly" product.

"Ma Fleur", however, does not fail to offer evocative emotions, as in the first track To Build A Home, minimalist and essential, excellently performed by a crescendo piano accompanied by Watson's ecstatic and poignant singing. In Music Box, light guitar arpeggios guide a whispered and subdued vocal part, while the very short Prelude is dominated exclusively by a dense and enveloping string section. Breathe might be a bit lengthy, but it is marked by a highly emotional vocal performance by Fontella Bass, also fundamental in Familiar Ground, where her gospel roots are clearly distinguished.

The title track, based on solid jazz foundations, vaguely reminds of the Soft Machine sound but does not convince due to a slight underlying flatness, while in As The Star Fall we find psychedelic flashes alternated with sudden rhythmic shifts of the double bass and percussion of pleasing impact. Pleasant are the soft and jazzy Child Song, rich in verve and graceful choruses, and the enchanting Into You, dominated by the alluring sax, where one perceives a reference to the romantic progressive of the 70s. Time and Space, which closes the album, is a wonderful ballad, almost a suite, in which guitar and piano intersect in an acerbic tapestry of soothing sounds, sung by an excellent Lou Rhodes.

"Ma Fleur" is essentially a well-packaged work, played and arranged impeccably, despite being, in some episodes, boring and predictable; one has the impression that these artists wanted to perform, like diligent students, their perfect little assignment, well polished on the surface but with few sparks of originality and inventiveness, perhaps, to please everyone a little. The CD includes a gallery of beautiful photographs, to emphasize how the music of the Cinematic Orchestra is created specifically to evoke images and impressions that perfectly marry with cinema and the visual arts in general.