LUEUR

The 11th studio album release from these Belgian Avant Gard/Rock-In-Oppostion pioneers, their fifth of the 21st Century.

1. "Migration vers le bas" (2:35) like being out on the Serengeti watching a pride of robot lions on the hunt. (4.33333/5)

2. "S'fumato (Part 1)" (9:28) opens with a progression of sustained swirling organ chords accompanied by bass and delicate cymbal play. The progression is played for four cycles before the very pleasant, high-register voice of Nicolas Denis (reminding me very much of ROBERT WYATT) joins in. At the three-minute mark the vocals stop and the full band launch into a thick, full-spectrum, ominous motif with some awesome piano, drum, and electric guitar play (sounding almost MAGMA-esque). This is great stuff! At the end the music returns to the calm, beautiful Robert Wyatt motif. My favorite song on the album. (18/20) 3. "Cloportes" (4:00) the Frenchified cross between YUGEN and KANSAS (sans mots). Lots of piano, time shifts, stop- and-go staccato syncopation, and accordion! (8.75/10)

4. "Rolling Eyes" (5:38) starts out far more melodic and "rock-without-opposition" than I'm used to hearing from this band. It's almost got an Irish / CHIEFTANS feel to it: both in terms of sound palette and construction. Again, I am so surprised to find so many catchy, fairly mainstream melodies sneaking in and out of this--until, that is, the electric guitar goes crazy at the end of the third minute. But then things return to a BBC soundtrack All Creatures Great and Small theme feeling. The drumming and guitar playing are the main things that keep taking the fairly gentle music off the rails a bit, but then it seems to always return to Tristan's main theme. Another top three song. (8.875/10)

5. "Axe 117" (3:33) as if a factory PA buzzer has gotten stuck repeating the same pulse of a note over and over. The other sounds are as if the industrial workers are trying to decide whether or not they should continue to work (some do) or wait for clarification and instructions. The pulsing buzz stops in the third minute and the workers all go back to their industrial routines. Entertaining but hardly pop music; more cinematic in a Fritz Lang kind of way. (8.66667/10)

6. "Sfumato (Part 2)" (6:11) sounds as if KEITH EMERSON had played with a avant garde/RIO orchestra. Not a pleasant listen but impressive skills and arrangement. (8.666667/10)

7. "Wavering" (3:51) slow cinematic music befitting an early industrial Fritz Lang silent film soundtrack. I like the fairly thin weave because I can easily give my attention to the performances of each of the individual instruments. The master-and-slave ominosity remains pretty constant from start to finish. (8.75/10)

8. "La tête à l'envers" (1:49) some elements of jazz-rock fusion and classic cinematic form (and Steve Jansen-like rhythms) work their way into this music. Nice little piece. (4.5/5)

9. "Mister Chung" (2:57) an interesting weave of airy horns and synth horns and sparsely populated percussives that are popular in Asian musical forms. A motif that never changes thus giving it more of an étude feel than a full-fledged song. (4.375/5)

10. "Dartafalk" (5:44) sounds like one of those 1960s French detective film-noir soundtrack pieces. Nothing to write home about but not bad. (8.75/10) 11. "Coda (2:02) drums and bass "funk" j-r fuze, UZed style. Displaying guitarist Nicolas Dechêne's inner Allan Holdsworth. My final top three song. (4.75/5)

Total Time 47:48

B/four stars; a decent and creative UZed album though it is not my favorite album of theirs--not even my favorite of the 21st Century (that would be 2010's Clivages), but still worth your while should you like their chamber orchestral approach to cinematic avant garde/RIO.

4.5 stars. What a week I just had listening to this album and ONE SHOT's latest "111" both top ten albums for 2023 in my little world. UNIVERS ZERO continue to show that they take a back seat to no band when it comes to serious, complex and adventerous music. One of my favourite t-shirts is a "Heresie" one I own and that is a top five studio album for me by this band along with "Uzed", "Heatwave", "Phosphorescent Dreams" and this one "Lueur". Throw in "Relaps" and "Crawling Wind" and all of these are in my best of Avant list. Love this band and thankyou Daniel Denis for carrying on in 2023 some 9 years after "Phosphorescent Dreams".

It's been nine years but this four piece were all on that 2014 record. The keyboardist and bass player from that album have been replaced by Daniel and his Son Nicolas who plays bass here, adds some percussion and sings on one track while Dad besides his incredible drum works plays all keyboards. This is different though than "Phosphorescent Dreams". That album was so melancholic with high end stuff throughout. Honestly the guitar on both albums is minimal to say the least. It's those dark sections on "Lueur" that give a different vibe here, plus to my ears it's like Daniel has included things from various past records, like tying a bow on his band here.

I thought of "Implosion"more than "Phosphorescent Dreams" while listening to this. What I love about "Implosion" are those short dark pieces where it feels like you are being taken to somewhere that you don't want to go. Creepy with suspense and three tracks from that album that are like that are "Oozing", "Mirrors" and "Bactieria" while on "Lueur" it's "Migration Vers Le Bas", "Axe 117" and "Mister Chung". Then there's those classical tunes that bounce that really turn me off and "Implosion" has those while "Lueur" gets close to crossing that line but doesn't and "Phosphorescent Dreams" isn't even close thankfully.

After opening with "Migration Vers Le Bas" and feeling like I'm on this slow moving train to my worst nightmare we get the vocal track "Sfumato(Part 1)" and on my initial spins I'm thinking this could fit on John Greaves' "Songs" record. This is a 9 1/2 minute track with floating organ and the lyrics are repeated twice with a reserved voice but in between some powerful stuff. Classic UZ at 5 minutes as it turns haunting with piano and atmosphere. Dark is the word. "Cloportes" is that tune getting close to that bouncy, classical style we also get clarinet here. I like that it changes to more of a serious style with the light sound returning late.

"Rolling Eyes" is a feel good piece of music with guitar, bass, steady beats and keyboards. "Axe 117" like the opener is a dark trip bringing ART ZOYD to mind. It's quite unsettling around 2 minutes. "Sfumato(Part 2)" is a top five with those three short "Implosion"-like tunes and the closer. This is powerful and dark. How good is the drumming 4 minutes in with electric piano and atmosphere. The next track "Wavering" is another highlight. Again dark and in no hurry. Classic UZ 1 1/2 minutes in. So good. "Mister Chung" is slow moving and haunting. "Coda" is an outstanding closer but only 2 minutes long, still the drums and bass shine. Yeah those Denis boys are talented.

This is dedicated to Daniel's daughter Julia who is pictured playing Dad's drums in this package. Speaking of the package, the cover art, back cover and inside has this glossy splatter-like stuff on it. No difference in the texture when you feel it but it's unique. Like the circular swirls of shiny on the front cover. I'm just so happy with this one and the latest ONE SHOT, my kind of music folks.