ESPRIT D'AMOR

I am not a huge fan from this French band. One of the major problem that I am facing is the vocals of their male lead singer. He reminds me very much of JJ Goldman (''Tai Phong''), but less appealing. Even when he sings in French, the lyrics are hardly recognizable (and I am a native French speaker).

The mood is often funky (''Esprit D'Armor'', ''Song A Cinq''), jazzy (''Brazilian Light'') which is not my cup of tea as you might know. Of course, the jazz influenced music is no news with this band: they showed already such tendencies during their first album.

The mix of several musical influences provides a feeling of world music, though the complexity of the music played and the skills of the musicians are unquestionable. But I could have lived without the wind instrument section very well.

They also integrate folkloric music and blends it into modern and imposing prog (''L'Invitation''). The perpetual mix of languages (?) within a song is not always recommendable IMO. Still, some instrumental parts are quite well achieved (''Modern Trad'', ''Au Cercle De Pierre J'Ai Dansé'').

I don't feel a lot of passion for this work. The band is talented but lacks in the ability to write truly great songs. As such, this album deserves three stars: a good album.