PELL MELL

After a lukewarm, yet charming introduction with 'Trip', French prog rock artist Sébastien Gramond surprises me once again by reinventing himself with his second album 'Pell Mell'. The debut presented the listener with a lo-fi psychedelic rock journey, and with the second album Gramond has to offer, he takes his talents and redirects them now into jazz fusion. While the surprising improvements in musicianship and technicality give the album a greater sense of maturity than 'Trip' however, the album is incredibly inconsistent, giving a work that is sometimes very good, and other times; dreadful.

On first listen, the thing that stands out the most is the fantastic jazz-fusion Gramond is able to compose and play. As can be heard on the album's second track 'Agressive World' (sic), Gramond is a very keen player on the guitar, keyboards, and drums. Having the credit of playing each and every one of the instruments on 'Pell Mell', the fusion sounds surprisingly organic and technical, cheerfully sweeping between groovy guitar licks, and smooth drum fills. The great vibe continues onto the album's highlight 'Just To Say Something', which has a charming groove to it that screams Herbie Hancock.

Unfortunately though, there's a few really pronounced weaknesses throughout the rest of the album that really serve to drag down what could otherwise have been a great jazz fusion album.

First among these are the vocal tracks, in which Gramond settles down the technicality of the instrumentation in favour for the use of voice. While the muffled, barely audible singing on 'Trip' did not bother me (and at times, even fit with the music), it's a real shame that the vocal delivery here is simply dreadful. With the organ rocker 'Fearful' coming most closely to thought, hearing Gramond's off-key and weak presentation is an experience close to that of seeing a bad American Idol audition; the passion is there, but the skill isn't.

On top of the severe vocal problems, there is a generally amateurish production and some bad album flow to contend with. While 'Pell Mell' is a sadly underwhelming and incredibly inconsistent album, Gramond is indeed a skilled guitarist and musician, and if only he can solve the few (albeit utterly important) weaknesses in his art, Gramond's music will get better from here.