ÇA VA

This comeback from 1998 sees a mature Slapp Happy making contemporary music and utilizing modern sounds. Not avant garde at all, this is a collection of understated pop songs utilizing modern keys and drum loops. Dagmar Krause's vocals are very restrained, especially for her- at times she reminds me of Nico or Marianne Faithfull, with Massive Attack and Brian Eno backing her! Not the most apt comparison, perhaps, but somewhat indicative of the kind of production used on this record. The lyrics still carry a little bite, as on the first track where Krause invites her lover to scar her emotionally for life. Not a prog record in any sense, but a good, unembarrassing album of melodic mid-tempo pop by three musicians who have aged gracefully.

Comeback albums are usually not as bad as the general opinion might imply. In most of the cases it's all because of the high expectations that fans have on albums that are released after a lengthy hiatus. If there is anything that manage to prove its quality with each passing year then its the comeback/reunion albums.

A twenty year hiatus is a long time no matter how well it was spent. It was evident from the get-go that Slapp Happy just wouldn't sound like the band that they were back in the '70s. The glory days and acoustic rendezvous have now been replaced by a digital studio that lets their artists produce a layered sounds, but what about the experience? Well, it's sort of here. For once, the band members actually play all the instruments themselves, but this production puts all of that discussion aside since you won't find many untampered instrumental moments here.

Ça Va gives its listeners a slick production sound that can appropriately be compared to Pink Floyd, which isn't that surprising if you consider Anthony Moore's work a few years prior to this release Unfortunately, just like the two final Pink Floyd albums, this release hasn't aged as gracefully as it was intended to. Songs like Scarred For Life or Different Lie make little connection to Slapp Happy of the past since this album sounds more like a Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds record from around that same time, than a brilliant Art Rock collective.

The final track, titled Hello Dagi, definitely drives the last spike into this highly unsatisfying release that only makes me want to revisit the band's superior past. I guess that this music will appeal to a wider audience, but there's just too much of a 'been here done there'-factor that overshadows this whole project.

**** star songs: Scarred For Life (3:20) Child Then (4:18) Powerful Stuff (4:14) Different Lie (4:07) Working At The Ministry (4:54) Let's Travel Light (3:42)

*** star songs: Moon Lovers (3:01) Is It You? (5:07) King Of Straw (3:14) Coralie (3:53) Silent The Voice (4:05) Unborn Byron (3:18)

** star songs: Hello Dagi (4:51)