FÉLICITÉ THÖSZ

The first comments I was hearing about MAGMA's latest record were that it was lighter than usual and joyful. Joyful ? Are you kidding me ? The previous record they put out "Emehntehtt-Re" I would describe as dark and intense, yet this is described as light and joyful ? Well i decided then and there I wasn't going to bother with it, especially since "Emehntehtt-Re" simply blew me away and might be my all-time favourite MAGMA record. Well as time went on I kept seeing all this praise for "Felicite Thosz" and then someone mentioned the band OFFERING (the solo project of Christian Vander) as being a good comparison. I like OFFERING a lot and it was then I thought i'd give "Felicite Thosz" a chance.

Well it comes as advertised no doubt about it. It's unmistakably MAGMA though and to be truthful despite being scepticle I started to like it pretty quickly. We get the long title track worth over 28 minutes that is broken into ten tracks that blend into one another. Then the closing 4 minute plus song that has a much smaller lineup with Christian on keyboards and glockenspeil and the other six on vocals. The long track has James Mac Gaw on guitar, Philippe Bussonette on bass, Christian Vander on drums and keyboards, Bruno Ruder on piano, Benoit Alziary on vibes then four vocalists including Christian and Stella.

Keep in mind that these first ten tracks blend into one another. "Ekmah" kicks in quickly with vocals as outbursts of sound come and go. Piano, reserved vocals and a laid back sound take over after a minute. It's building. "Elss" picks up as female vocals lead. it settles late. "Dzo" is female vocal led while male vocals join in on "Nums" and take the lead although female vocals do continue in this mellow soundscape of guitar, piano and cymbals. "Teha" features prominant bass joining in as the female vocals lead. There's more passion after a minute. Yes this is uplifting and joyful music.

"Waahrz" begins with a calm with piano only and continues until the song "Duhl" where it kicks into a full sound with the vocals leading. Some nice drum work here. "Tsai !" is more powerful and the bass sounds great. Male vocals join in. It settles after 1 1/2 minutes with reserved female vocals. Deep male vocals start to trade off with the female then it kicks in at 3 minutes. Nice. "Ohst" has some female chanting then it settles as Christian sings with piano and a beat. A fuller sound 3 1/2 minutes in with guitar too. "Zahrr" ends it in a dark manner. Oh sure now it's dark.

"Les Hommes Sont Venus" is the closing number with the smaller lineup. It's mostly these repetitive vocals and keyboards throughout. I like it !

Yeah this is really good and getting a new MAGMA album in 2012 is something I should not have taken for granted.