SZENTENDRE

Like Look De Bouk or Toupidek Limonade, SZENTENDRE can be thought as one of offshoots of a renowned French RIO outfit Hellebore, that shared membership among the three projects. The one-off quartet released an eponymous single-sided LP only and unobserved hid behind another side. And how cool also such a stuff like the "single-sided" LP with bulky title letters on the other side. Suggest that they can appeal to listeners or the audience only with the single side. Their texture is much polished, with a bit sensual fuzzy guitar rumbles, keenly clear and much self-assertive synthesizer edges, inorganic but somewhat warm rhythm machine bullets, and wonderfully tragic atmosphere - impressive especially in the opening track "Un Tour Gratuit" and fifth one "La Salsa Des Ann'es Noires". Guess this strategy may be typical of all French music scene, not only RIO nor progressive rock world. With various sensible technical skills (e.g. avantgarde space rock texture with unrefined guitar fuzz horror in the second track "Mai 68"), they can invade our mind smoothly, and get dominant over us listeners. On the contrary, their slightly Ange-ish dreamy whispers & voices, mellow synthesizer sounds, gracefully quiet percussion in the third "La Berg're" are very simple but very attractive. They might be simpler and more reserved than Hellebore, but enough assertive and addictive let me say. Consider this eccentric LP is now very obscure but very important for RIO / Avant scene.