SI ON AVAIT BESOIN D'UNE CINQUIÈME SAISON

The second album by harmonium by Harmonium is nothing short of perfect, in my opinion. Much like the artwork which accompanies it, "Si On Avait Besoin d'Une Cinquième Saison" is colourful, mystical, fresh and absolutely stunning in every way possible. The music on the album is written so to reflect the atmosphere of each of the four seasons, with the exception of the last (and best) track. Mellotron, Acoustic guitar, accordion and, most importantly, the absence of drums, places "Si On Avait Besoin d'Une Cinquième Saison" in the ground between being Symphonic and Folk. It's sung entirely in french and, while french is a beautiful language, perfectly fit for this sort of music, it makes it impossible for non frensch- spkeakers to understand what this, reportedly, concept album is about, lyrically. I have an idea thanks to a very helpful forum user and several internet sites, and i only wish i could understand it completely, as it seems like a really interesting concept.

Even if there was no "Histoires sans paroles", i could still give the album 4-5 stars with a good consciense, but if i were to do that now, i would never be able to sleep again for doing it such an injustice. Simply put, all the praise that this 17-minute masterpiece has gotten by the reviewers on the site is more than deserved. The shear beauty of the entire track has made me teary-eyed so many times and i simply do not know how anybody can dislike it. Then again, not many do, apparently, as the album has maintaned its high rating after so many as 100 reviews.

It is impossible for me to be very informative or objective about this album, all i can do is twrow superlatives on it and hope that someone decides to check it out because of it.