The first tones of the opening track Envoutement immediately brought back the memory of Weidorje, a great seventies band from France which was driven by the bass fuzz tones of Bernard Paganotti. In the same vein multi-instrumentalist Barnard Falaise (bass, guitar, keyboard, mandolin and banjo) drives this track forth to nice effects. And Miriodor isn't even French, but a Canadian band and this is already their seventh album! I missed the first six albums, but what I gather is that Avanti! is slightly different, because it consists of seven long tracks where normally the band would be into shorter songs of the rock-in-opposition (RIO) genre. For me this type of music isn't easy listening as Miriodor is squarely into the Gentle Giant type of prog, that is, when the band actually plays prog. The second track Bolide Debile is an excellent example of this with its Gentle Giant breaks and rhythms, while the vocals have been replaced by horns. I have to admit though, that at the end of this track the music of Miriodor becomes a bit tiring. It contains quite a lot of free jazz elements which normally don't make for smooth listening. Most of the remaining songs start rather pleasantly, but then gradually drift off into free jazz and noisy country, something which has to be of your liking. So, in the end I have to conclude that the progressive avant-prog rock with a lot of jazzy tendencies on Avanti! is an acquired taste. **André de Waal (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
