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French TV - A Ghastly State of Affairs CD (album) cover

A GHASTLY STATE OF AFFAIRS

French TV

RIO/Avant-Prog


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4 stars No band to my knowledge sounds like French TV. They have created their own unique, complex, and zany music for decades. This is their 15th album and the first one not self-released. Cuneiform Records is bringing more exposure to one of best bands you've never heard. So I pop in the CD and the first tune leaves my jaw on the floor. Clocking in at (18:25) this sounds like no FTV I've ever heard. They sound like a new band. The tune starts sparse, builds slowly and then a Spanish guitar comes in the mix. The song keeps building and changing, surprises all around, weaving a magical web that is engaging, unpredictable, and playful. They are outside of their comfort zone and I dig it. Could be in the running for my favorite song of the year!

Second tune... jumpy, catchy, syncopated rhythms and nice counterpoint. The arranged layered sax playing is crazy good. When I hear this song it puts me in a good state with a smile on my face. Lots of great jamming. Another tune that is charting new sounds.

The next three tunes settle into more traditional FTV style. All are good but don't rip my head off like the first two.

I need to mention how great this CD is recorded and mixed. Howie Gano has been engineering with this band for a long time and he needs a special shout out. The mix, as always, is spectacular - full and rich, with audible bass guitar and all instruments are clearly heard and placed expertly in the stereo field.

If your new to FTV this would be a good place to begin. Almost accessible, sometimes catchy, and interesting instrumental tunes that make this a treasured listen. FTV are one of the few bands that don't decline with age. In fact, they just get better.

Report this review (#2965431)
Posted Monday, October 30, 2023 | Review Permalink
Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars This is the 15th release for Kentucky's own FRENCH TV and that includes one live release. Starting with that debut in 1984 these guys continue to roll. I only have "The Violence Of Amateurs" from 1999 and "Pardon Our French" from 2004 and I much prefer those two to this most recent release. I consider "The Violence Of Amateurs" to be one of the best Avant albums to come out of the USA. Sure they go in directions that I don't like which is what kept if off my top 50 Avant list but it is a special record. "Pardon Our French" is cool for the covers they do of bands from France but not nearly as good as that '99 record.

So it was interesting putting this latest one on for the first time and promptly popping it out because I must have put in the wrong disc. I haven't done that in a long time but I have no idea the direction the band has been going in the last almost 20 years(haha). But this is different, not nearly as challenging or avant as the two earlier albums I mentioned. Mike Sary the bass player is the one constant when it comes to this band's members. The lineup has changed a lot since 1984. This one comes across as a more mature, almost fancy adult contemporary like what the ECM label promotes. Just not my scene at all. A four piece of bass/guitar/keys/drums with three guests adding flue, sax and violin. The flute leads the way quite a bit as does the sax. The violin as a lead instrument not so much.

Five tracks over 56 plus minutes but it was that 18 1/2 minute opener that really had me scratching my head. There's so much of it that I'm not into like that ECM label vibe after 6 minutes or those high pitched synths for example around 8 minutes in. A lot of flute and piano follow that, classy stuff. A calm late before the music swells after 15 1/2 minutes. Sax is more of the focus on the second track "Baby You Fill Me With Inertia" at over 11 minutes. Not into it after 6 minutes but the rest is okay.

I'm not big on the synths on that third track. Next is "The Mayor Of Ding Dong City" and an interesting native styled rhythm after 4 1/2 minutes. The closer is where the violin gets some attention but it seems like every track on here has parts I'm not into at all. This closer is all over the place it seems.

Despite the humerous picture of the band with cartoon fists and captions of "Bang", "Whak", "Pow" etc. the music here is just too serious. Not my music.

Report this review (#2976804)
Posted Sunday, December 24, 2023 | Review Permalink
kev rowland
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Prog Reviewer / Special Collaborator
4 stars Here we have the fourteenth studio album from American prog outfit French TV, who released their debut all the way back in 1984, but I am somewhat embarrassed to say this is the first time I have come across the group. With such a long history behind them it is no surprise there have been multiple line-ups, but bassist Mike Sary has been there since the beginning while this is the fourth album to feature both Katsumi Yoneda (guitars) and Patrick Strawser (keyboards) although in recent years they have had some issues with drummers, and this is the debut for Fenner Caster. They also have a few guests in Kenji Imai (flute), Warren Dale (saxophones) and Ludo Fabre (violin). Until last year I had not thought of Pat since the Nineties, when I reviewed an album by Volaré, but recently I have reviewed a few released under his own name or as part of a group, but it was still quite a surprise to see him here as well.

Now, having not heard any of the band's other material I cannot say if this is similar to what they have been releasing recently or not, but I do know from reading other reviews that this is nothing like their early stuff. Seeing this was on Cuneiform I did expect something more overtly RIO, but this instrumental release has much more in common with classic Canterbury, although it also contains more melodic moments as well. The guests play an incredibly important part as they often take the lead, while the core quartet provide consistently high note density. It is the way they move between different styles which makes this such an interesting release as there are areas where if it was played in isolation then it would not be enjoyed at all, but it is the contrast between loungecore and dramatic inventive and complex prog which makes it all work together. There are only five tracks on here, but there is no lack of material to enjoy given that the opener is more than eighteen minutes in length.

Although this is highly melodic, I found it did take me three or four plays to really start to get inside it as although on the surface it does appear commercial for the most part, there is a lot going on and it certainly takes time to fully ingest. This is an album which will only be enjoyed by those who are prepared to give it the time it deserves as otherwise the masterclass in musicianship will just pass them by. If, like me, you have managed to avoid French TV for the past 40 years then this is certainly an interesting release to start with, but whether or not it is truly representative of where they have come from then that I cannot answer.

Report this review (#3037855)
Posted Wednesday, April 17, 2024 | Review Permalink

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