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Caféďne - Nouveaux Mondes CD (album) cover

NOUVEAUX MONDES

Caféďne

 

Symphonic Prog

3.54 | 38 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

ZowieZiggy
Prog Reviewer
2 stars I haven't had a fine listening while discovering this looooooong album. I moderately appreciated their first album, but this one is frankly overrated.

L'Or Des Indes features good instrumental parts but I can't stand the chorus related to the all mighty one (God). This work sounds more as a French musical than as a true prog-rock album. This feeling notably prevails during the vocal parts (Voler En Eclats). Simple French rock music for some six minutes. Fortunately, the closing part is fully symphonic and a great guitar solo punctuates it. It was about time.

There are little variation between songs, and a certain feeling of dullness is felt while listening to this album. No tracks are weak, but there is no highlight as such. Just a bunch of average to good songs. But it is very difficult to be enthusiast about this release. Just because the band doesn't convey this feeling. And the several guests won't be able to change this (even not the great Christian Descamps during Don Juan).

The instrumental Atomik is no other Experience. A good tempo, OK. But what else? It ends up nowhere. But where did it start?

This album doesn't work for me. Pompous and repetitive. For about seventy minutes. That's a long time to bear. One still hopes to reach a jewel track, but it won't come, unfortunately. Sometimes this happens : an acclaimed album just can't do it for me.

Musicianship is excellent and the quality of the guests is unquestionable. It is just that the mayonnaise doesn't work. Theatrical vocals at times, but lyrics are nothing from the other world. Don't look anything ŕ la early Ange in this respect. The search would be useless.

Alexandre could have been a nice epic. I guess that there was sufficient elements to write a great song about this extraordinary character. But nothing as much. A boring song for about ten minutes. Another Broadway type song. Press next.

The short My Only Quest is a track that could have been attractive. Nice and subtle piano, pleasant background keyboards, but again the feeling of a musical is really too much. Maybe a live representation with hundreds of people on stage could have brought another dimension. But it wouldn't have improved the weak lyrics.

And the long and closing Cathédrale won't save this album. It is fully in-line with the other songs, unfortunately. Two stars. This is as far as I can get for this concept album. Even if I have a special look at French prog.

ZowieZiggy | 2/5 |

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