TOUT CE QUE J'AI RÊVÉ

I first saw Jellyfiche at the 2007 Montreal Progfest and was really taken back by their show and their music. In fact I was in search of their CD for over a year and finally they turned up at a recent FISH show and I was able to snag a copy of their album......and the verdict is in.....a great album! Jellyfiche blend the classic 70's Francophone prog style with some modern production and draw in other influences. No meaningless "noodling" here or average song writing, this is truely a magical symphonic album with well penned songs and inspired music. Lead Vocalist "Syd" has a powerful yet kind voice and Jellyfiche make some beautiful harmonies. A wonderful first album I would recommend to everyone!

The newest Quebecois is a recruit for the Unicorn label (that carries a few more), JF is a trio of seasoned veterans whom started their respective careers in the mid-90's, but only waited until 07 to form this project, which is a play on word for jellyfish. The three Montrealers have invited a guest drummer and a flutist girlfriend and called upon some external help for part of the lyric, in order to complete this long album that comes with a textured paper booklet and very pleasant artwork all throughout. Their music is between a certain form or retro-prog and modern prog, and even has a dose of neo-prog, reminding me a bit of their countrymen Dagmar with a jazzier slant.

The album appears divided in two parts, as if they wished us to turn over the disc and play the flipside. The album starts quite fine with the excellent title track (all I've dreamed) as typical 90's retro-prog with very neutrally-sung French lyrics, but these are belted out in a very neo-proggish manner. Despite this "flaw", this first track holds high dramatics and some good interplay, namely between the guitar and the KB (includes many vintage, even a discreet mellotron). The following Les Arbres (trees) is much in the same line and has us hoping the rest of the album is of the same acabit. Unfortunately Caché Au Fond Plus Haut (hidden deeper higher) and Source Infinie (never-ending source) are way too wordy and to be honest, the vocals are now grating me by this time that progress in the album is only heading forward by the presence of a mellotron. It's not that Syd's voice or Eric's backing vocals are bad, but they into a too- loud mixing scheme and presents all of the neo-prog clichés, that this writer has grown to loath since it seems a requirement to be irritating for neo-prog sounding groups. The second part of the album starts out on the guitar-arpeggio introduction In Vitro turning into a wild electric guitar solo for the two-part Dans La Peau D'un Autre (in someone else's skin), a track that comes close to stealing the spotlight to the title track, and where the vocals are less prominent (in volume, not in quantity); good stuff really, but no more. After its merry-go-round intro of La Fontaine, the group attacks the epic Cage Des Vautours (Vulture's cage), but it's nothing that

What JF proposes in this first album is a modern prog that rests between the 70's giants and the 80's and 90's neo-prog and instead of being compared to Marillion sound-alike, you have to aim between Discipline and TFK or SB to pigeonhole the band's sound with a jazzier slant than usual. Outside the irritating neo-prog type vocals, JF's music has many pleasant

A wonderful prog album that is difficult to categorize as it has eclectic elements throughout: symphonic, neo, jazz fusion, psychedelia, trip-hop, ANGE-like theatrics, and even funk-pop influences. The band's core is a trio each coming from quite disparate musical backgrounds, all from Montréal, Québec. Gifted bassist/singer "Syd" sings the band's poetic lyrics in French, which I love, and a very well-annunciated French, I might add. Very accessible and melodic.

Album highlights for me include the title song (8:46) (10/10), the bluesy PINK FLOYDian "Les Arbres" (10:27) (9/10), the emotional epic, "La cage des vautours/Liberté" (15:25) (8/10), and; "Caché au fond plus haute" (7:14) (8/10).

Solid 4 stars; excellent addition to any prog lovers music collection.

A very promising group from Montreal, Jelly Fiche starts their musical discography very well with Tout Ce Que J´ai Rêvé. this trio (wit the help of a guest frummer) shows they do know their job very well. While it is also clear they have a lot to develop yet, some parts are just gorgeous and very well performed. Their influences are many, but it´s easy to see that 70´s Pink Floyd (as on Les Abres) and Genesis (some parts of La Cage des Vautours / Liberté did remind me of The Musical Box) are among them. On the other side, there is quite elegant sax and several jazzy segments that takes you to early King Crimson era. Vocals are all sung in frech which gives this album an unique sound, since Syd (bass, vocals) has a very particular way of delivering the words (part jazzy part traditional french music).

The production is top notch and all the songs are good. Excellent guitar parts, passionate vocals and vintage keyboards are included on the package. The variety of styles performed never leave you bored. It´s the kind of CD to hear from start to finish and travel along through many different musical landscapes. Their songwriting is surprisingly good for a debut record. Ok, nothing groundbreaking or too far out here, but still they are building their own style already.

If you´re looking for something a little different but still melodic and powerful, this is a must hear.

Final rating: something between 3.5 and 4 stars. I´ll round up to four because of the high quality of the material here and the excellent work of all involved. A band to watch for. I´m eagerly waiting for their next release. Recommended.

Three musicians from Montreal, Canada, with a different musical background found Jelly Fiche in 2005.Bassist/singer Syd is a fan of rock music and poetry, Eric Plante on keyboards/sax admires the free spirit of Jazz and guitarist Jean-Francois Arsenault is a long-time Progressive Rock follower.With the help of Mathieu Bergeron on drums, Vanessa Caron on flutes and Gardy Fury on choirs the band recorded the debut ''Tout ce que j'ai rêvé'' at La Note De Drop Studio in Laval in November 2007 and released it in March 2008 on Unicorn.

The result of the presence of three musicians with different tastes was an album full of intricate nuances, diverse soundscapes and multiple colors, having strong ANGE and PINK FLOYD vibes and sounding like a cross between DAGMAHR, DIRECTION and SKY ARCHITECT.This is very eclectic musicianship with evident Jazz-Rock, Psychedelic, Symphonic and Neo Prog leanings, supported by a gifted vocalist with an expressive singing approach, not always conveincing, but still pretty nice for a band making its first step into discography.Jelly Fiche's flexibility can be heard in every track.Long and spacey guitar solos are mixed with some nice guitar-led psychedelic grooves (both very GILMOUR-influenced) as well as very strong jazzy sax solos, but the next moments the band presents a face closer to Theatrical Progressive Rock with vocal explosions, strong keyboard attacks, acoustic passages and a few nice melodies thrown in.Do not expect by the band to divide the influences in track by track, all of the above inspirations and different emotional states arise from every arrangement.Anger, sensitivity, romance and joy, all have place in Jelly Fiche's music.

These hundred of different angles blended together next to the album's length prevent ''Tout ce que j'ai rêvé'' from being an essential record.On the other hand something tells me that this group can come up with a really bright work in the future.For the time being fans of adventurous Progressive Rock are welcome to join this album.