This is the latest long player from FRANCOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS, a band whose last single ‘Piscine’ I reviewed a little while ago on this site. Then, I stated that on the strength of the single, then the album would be worth checking out. I was wrong. The album surpasses the single, which appears here as one of the weaker tracks.
There are eleven tracks on the album, all with layered instrumentation that completely suits the vocals, which are sung on some tracks in English, on others in French, and occasionally flitting between the two languages. Even so, that should not detract from what is a great album or deter anyone from purchasing it.
Opening with ‘Les Plus Beaux’ which is a track of jangly guitar europop, having Francois’ vocals with a slight echo. Sung in French, there were a few bits I could readily pick out: - “Nous nous faisons la bas”, which roughly translates as we are the lowest, however even if he is at a low point, he is clearly looking at the stars, as the chorus of “Soyons les plus beaux” is let us be the best/finest, and this was definitely a fine opener. In fact it is scheduled as the second single release from the album.
‘Muddy Heart’ is the sort of pop tune that sets the scene for summer, and this is definitely one of the plus points on the album, the majority of the tracks being upbeat and uplifting. There are some thought provoking lyrics here: - “To take care of you, when you’re away, to take care of me too/ I bury my heart in the ground before I go a walkin’.”
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Other tracks I thought were great were ‘Edge of Town’, with its slightly African drums and percussion, and jaunty guitar line, this sounded a bit like T-Rex would have done if they had been a glam Afrobeat band!
Track five, ‘Azrou Tune’ starts off slowly, with an almost funereal sax line before transforming itself into a lushly textured ballad with Francois asking himself “Where did I get up? What is this strange place?”
What I really liked about this album, is that it is a perfect example of European pop, with all of its virtues and none of its failings. As Francois says on the last track “Do You Want To Dance, curled up on my chest? That’s the way to rest, from glimpses and glances.” If you like your music romantic and really bright, then this is the perfect album to kick away all those winter blues.
Domino Records online
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