MUSIQUE BRETONNE DE TOUJOURS

If you love TRI YANN and MALICORNE but pass idle moments wishing that they used bagpipes unrestrainedly, then GWERZ might be for you. If you haven't heard of them or the last time you knew you had any Celtic ancestry was at a relative's funeral, you probably don't need to read on. But nobody is stopping you!

While GWERZ earns kudos for carrying on the Breton tradition during the dark decade of the 1980s, and for capturing that scary airless quality that enervates even the most mundane number, this debut is otherwise rather dispensable. While the more progressively structured "Ar Plac'h Ifiernet" is the most accomplished piece, plenty of equivalencies in the better known acts can be substituted without hardship. Even among the current crop, SANGRE DE MUERDAGO more effectively exploits the shrill pipe infested arrangements by not overplaying them. I hasten to add this is all well executed, and am even glad to underscore "Ar Jouiz" as another highlight of shifting tempos operating with the established arsenal.

If you got this far, then GWERZ is probably worth at least a free test drive if you can arrange one. Otherwise, particularly on a prog site, this is for a very special listener indeed. 2.5 stars.