Locust Music
Cyann & Ben : Happy like an autumn Tree (F,2004)****
Strange that I read “melancholic” a couple of times in other reviews. ‘Melancholic’ is not just a pop-mood thing, it’s an 'emotional expression' which I don’t notice here.
What I do notice is a style evolution. I didn’t know at first if I would order this album, after having heard two audiofiles, but in the end I did, and I didn’t expect the same fragile beautiful moments as the first album. This shows more the band sound of independent psychrock with an art-feeling, with mostly keyboards, (bass) and percussion led, with a fine post-70’s psych feeling, in a somewhat modernized sophisticated form. It takes until the third track before the first song appears, still with strong instrumental harmonies and soft psychrock instrumental lead. Here we also hear a short electronic music loop like that used on “Dark Side of the Moon”, somewhat accidentally, but still showing that interest. The band sound is as much atmospheric as structurally softly leading. Only at the right moments the song basis comes through. A bit a strange track and some change is “Tide”, a loop and reverb driven psychedelica with some organ, and acoustic guitars and murmering.. before the third (acoustic guitar) song appears ("Summer"). The last track then really acts like a closer, using a kind of ‘in continuum’ and then with a fading out improvisation on a couple of chords, in an atmospheric psychpopstyle, before, literally, the needle is taken of the record. A really fine release.
