Review for Parcelle Brillante, new album of Orwell from Italy. And all this in despite of an unpleasant situation on the spot. Anyway, Forza Italia ! Grazie di cuore a Pier Vanni Cossu !
Here it is skillfully translated into English :
Without falling into the banality by repeating a lot of things already said about them, with lightness, we could define the music of the French band Orwell as a referenced pop.
The records that preceded this new "Parcelle Brillante" are all signs that lead us directly to big names in world pop, from Bacharach to Stereolab via the Prefab Sprout and the High Llamas with mandatory stops in music film which finds its greatest representatives in Italy (N. Rota, P. Piccioni, P. Umiliani, S. Cipriani, E. Morricone).
Like in the past and in these new apparently simple compositions, the inspiration and the spirit of Jérôme Didelot are leading us into sophisticated arrangements which develop symbolic links with the artists named above.
The title of the disc, as well as the lyrics of the songs that are set in it, on the other hand, have a completely different origin, in fact, they are inspired by a deep immersion of the musician of Nancy in the writing of the American author Theodore Sturgeon.
The themes of loneliness and diversity, Sturgeon's favorites, intersect with the sensitivity of Jérôme Didelot who tries to give a positive vision of what at first glance can appear as a weakness which, if presented from a better angle, on the contrary, may turn out to be like a new strength.
Musically, the record is very well constructed. The elegant cinematic start ("Derivation") immediately gives way to a very catchy composition with clear references to pop from the very early 80s, son of the Korgis, New Musik and O.M.D. ("Jamais Assez"). "Les Mains De Bianca" encompasses the soul of the High Llamas, Stereolab and Giorgio Tuma in a single embrace, while "Les Ondes" is a clear reference to the French-touch of Tahiti 80, Air and Phoenix, perfectly successful, followed by a nostalgic interlude worthy of the best Gilbert O 'Sullivan in the mid-tempo swaying "Lone".
At the end, there is even room for a "canterburian" style composition, a canvas which pictures a landscape in gray and pink, shades so appreciated by Richard Sinclair ("Parcelle Brillante") which gently tilts towards the minimal epilogue of "Dors Encore", short choral piece, tribute to Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys.
Five years after their last sound signal, these pop artisans hang up the notes left hanging with "Exposition Universelle" while keeping faith in their francophile line but with the big brother's eye ready to capture the sounds of the world. (PVC)