NULA JEDAN

I mentioned in my review of "Weila" that THORK was a side project of the Maurin brothers(NIL). Well apparently this has become Sebastien Fillion's baby, as only Samuel Maurin is left and he only plays bass on two tracks. Sebastien meanwhile has added guitar, bass, low and tin whistles, glockenspiel and vocals to his usual role of synths and piano player. Each THORK album has been different, the first more in the Folk vein, while "Weila" was dark and experimental with gothic and classical themes. I really think the band has found their sound with this album. It's modern sounding, dark, mid-paced and very full sounding. The music is so lush, and unlike "Weila" the vocals don't stand out but simply add another layer to the sound.

"Ex-Slave" is a perfect example of that modern sound I was talking about. This might be the best song they have done so far. Percussion is joined by an atmospheric guitar melody as haunting synths arrive. Vocals and bass before a minute.There is this powerful undercurrent throughout. The tempo picks up. Incredible sound. Dark, atmospheric and heavy. Love the guitar solo 3 minutes in. Violin follows. Vocals continue from Sebastien with help from Violette Corroyer. She really adds a lot. Violin and keys 5 minutes in. Acoustic guitar sounds great as well.They contrast beautifully the lighter passages with the heavier ones the rest of the way. Listen to the intricate drumming. Fantastic tune ! "Ici" opens with some raw sounding guitar before the heavy beat comes in. It lightens as vocals arrive. The heavy and light are contrasted throughout. This is catchy. The beat stops 3 1/2 minutes in briefly as it becomes dark and atmospheric. More raw guitar with background synths this time. Nice. "La Lumiere" is very atmospheric as the percussion beats and the guitar grinds away slowly. Vocals replace guitar a minute in. The guitar comes back but it's faint. The sound starts to build as instruments are added. Female vocal melodies before it becomes pastoral again. The guitar is back 6 minutes in grinding away. Percussion to end it.

"J'Aurais Pu" is dark with processed vocals. It's rather slow moving. It becomes more powerful and uplifting after 3 minutes. Great second half. "Danse Des Airs" is my second favourite song after "Ex- Slave". The synths sort of swirl around as drums and a full sound comes in. The guitar makes it's presence known as the soundscape becomes heavier. It suddenly becomes very atmospheric with faint vocals and no melody. The guitar makes some noise before the melody returns. The bass is prominant 4 minutes in. Piano follows as it gets quite emotional. "Au Ciel" opens with a guitar melody as fragile vocals come in.This is such a moving track. Violin after 2 minutes as we also get some guest trombone, trumpet and flugelhorn on this track. "Revoir" sounds great with the bass, drums and synths leading the way. Vocals a minute in. This is a great tune to drift away in. "01" opens with piano, bass and then vocals. It kicks in around 3 minutes to a full sound. Heavy. The guest horn players are back for this one. Violin 4 1/2 minutes in. The song calms down with piano to end it. "Ces Reves-La" is a very cool song with percussion, acoustic guitar and processed vocals. Something uplifting about this one.

I have to go back and re-listen to "Weila" to see if I really do like this one better.They are very different from one another so it boils down to taste I suppose. Both are must haves.