UN PEU DE L'ÂME DES BANDITS

Beside the excentric tastes and the eclectism, "Un Peu..." first hit me right between my ears; "A Modern Lesson" reminded me of that melody-of-tones-composition technique, well- known for its use from Webern to Zappa, only this time the melodic line itself is made up by cut and paste technique; "Cinema (Knockke)", made up of episodes (from pseudo-Varese music to some strangely beautiful, punk-like guitar solo), is the mark of this album, one of the best Aksak Maboul moments; many times i had the impression that Zappa is hiding somewhere in the studio, behind his grin, wise in his reeds arrangement; there wasn't, of course. The impression grew even stronger when listening to "Palmiers en pots" and despite the bizzare styles added on one album already, i remembered i'm dealing with some Henry Cow agents, open-minded, avantgarde musicians. Next came some song which might be some turkish folklore recording, then a punk episode and so on... it never stops.Wether it's or it's not an essential piece of progressive music, i can't answer you that. (Ooooooooo, yes : it's an excellent addition to any prog music... blah-blah-blah... just listen to it !)