AVARIC

A true example of the 1970s French underground, the folk band AVARIC emerged in the city of Bourges and existed from 1979 to 1983. This band blended a unique mix of melancholic medieval folk mixed with contemporary styles and added a touch of symphonic and progressive rock elements. The name of the band was taken from a place called Avaricum from Roman times. The name of the band is a clue for its medieval folklore and sounds that stretch back several centuries. The band consisted of Patrick Aubailly (vocals, dulcimer, flute, psaltery), Franck Lopez (vocals, dulcimer, flute, acoustic guitar, psaltery, cromorne), Eric Milhiet (vocals, flute, organ), Lionel Baillemont (guitar, bass, vibraphone, synthesizer, metallophone) and Jean-Marie Noël (bongos, percussion, cymbals, triangle).

The band released four albums during its short run with this self-titled album being the first. This is really a French experience through and through as the lyrics are sung in the mother tongue and the references of the content relate to French history. The exception is the sole track "Out In The Garden" which features English lyrics but given that they sound clumsy, it's far better to hear AVARIC perform in their native tongue rather than sound goofy. The tracks are all extremely melodic with acoustic guitar, tribal percussion and lots of flute sounds as there are three flautists on board although they don't necessarily play in a blitzkrieg attack.

The tracks vary in their emphasis with some such as the opening "En Mes Pays Quand Me Trouve En Repos" featuring prominent acoustic guitar, whereas others like the traditional "Bell Qui Tiens Ma Vie" showcasing a tight harmonic interplay of the vocalists, all three of them. While described as folk rock, the latter genre is nearly absent but progressive rock compositional elements give this album a more sophisticated edge over much contemporary folk of the 70s. The tracks are all colorful and fueled with a fiery passion for an era long gone but updated for a modern take that adds contemporary elements of prog and all things French.

This band's albums are true obscurities and there is virtually no info out there about the band or its albums however if you can't get enough of music that incorporates Medieval music into modern folk settings then AVARIC won't disappoint. In a way this band is sort of the French version of Gryphon without the harshness of the crumhorn and doesn't drift as far into progressive folk as did its British counterpart. All in all this is a rather unique sounding album given that i'm not really familiar with the style of French folk that is presented here given that France is divided into many regions with radically different traditions. AVARIC certainly did a decent job of crafting a nice memorable album of catchy tunes fortified with electro-rock instrumentation.

Like the bastard child of TRI YANN and MALICORNE that was aborted in the 5th year of it's 4 year pregnancy, Celtic folk group AVARIC appears to have achieved sufficient notoriety in its locality of Bourges to string together an impressive run between 1979 and 1983 at a time when folk rock and prog rock were in steep decline. Here the band is a quintet but my understanding is that they were eventually known mostly as the trio of Frank Lopez, Lionel Baillemont, and Jean-Marie Noël. Combining warm harmonies with earnestness, they managed the challenging feat of adapting medieval texts to traditionally inspired music while sounding as intimate and idealistic as their protest brethren of the long past decade. This debut is arrestingly mature yet playfully innocent.

The primary instruments are acoustic guitar and flute, with shards of dulcimer, and, oh, the voices, everywhere the voices, sometimes suffusing even otherwise weaker numbers with an ecclesiastical tone, or at least an impression that they were recorded in a church. Speaking of which, the production, while doubtless of limited resources, is entirely sympathetic. Most tracks are sung in French with a couple in Spanish, perhaps reflecting some of the early roots of that region. The only English number is "Out in the Garden", in which the shy fellows opt to bury their accents in the jangly folk rock mix and, like most everything here, it glitters. But for me the show stopper is "Tres Morillas", with the sweetest repeated guitar motif and near a capella verses. "Nous Etions Trois Camarades" skillfully deploys the calling card call and response of the best Breton traditions with hollow percussion and flutes. Their obsession with the number 3 culminates with the adventurous "Balladilla de los Tres Rios" that even includes eerie and portentous organ accompaniment.

Apparently this debut has not yet seen CD re-release, which has motivated asking prices to heights that the quality may not justify, but then again....Highly recommended for fans of a more studied less rambunctious take on Celtic inspired folk rock.