I'm going back to an album released several months ago which didn't create a buzz on the internet and which is the 3rd studio recording by the French of AnaphorA', a band created in the early 2000s, which recorded two albums (which are very difficult to find on Spotify because the group has 2 pages), 'After Dreams' in 2006 and 'Virtual Reality' in 2010. I admit it, I knew absolutely nothing about 'AnaphorA' and it was by chance on a review of 'Rock Meeting', well isolated on the web, that I discovered 'Exode'. After a first listen, I found myself in a familiar universe mixing progressive rock with French song influences and, even if we know that progressive rock is not very popular in France, the least we can say is that this album deserves much more promotion.
Indeed, everything comes together to offer us a very good progressive rock album: to begin with, the theme of Exodus is declined in all its forms and the whole forms a concept album on the need for human beings to flee the planet Earth that they have permanently damaged and to find another world that will be able to welcome them. Then, the progressive side is put forward in many clear atmospheres throughout each title, the sung and instrumental sections being well distributed, the whole benefiting from an irreproachable production. Finally, each member of the group brings his stone to the building: first, 'Cathy Soler' offers us magnificent vocal performances in a clear register then, the instrumental parts are always catchy, and 'RV Math' delivers magnificent guitar solos. On the menu of this opus, 13 titles for an hour of listening which begins with a short instrumental prologue setting the scene and which then scrolls through catchy melodies starting with 'L'ennemi du bien' which begins in a slow tempo and which then takes off in a faster rhythm giving off a sense of urgency, then, 'Trop tard' shows, on the contrary, an energetic first part which is the bitter observation of this inability to be able to save the planet and which continues in second part with a slow tempo starting with a poignant guitar solo. We continue our musical journey with the energetic 'Dans la torpeur' with its remarkable final rhythmic crescendo then 'Partir loin d'ici', which is the acknowledgment of having to leave the Earth, offers us new memorable melodic lines and a second part poignant with 'Cathy Soler' which makes me think of the intonations of 'Daniel Balavoine' by conveying the same emotions, the final guitar solo being also of great beauty. The suite continues in this direction with compositions all as endearing as each other, each delivering its piece of the exodus, always with melodic lines that we immediately appropriate and atmospheres ranging from an energetic 'Changer d'Univers' to an 'Erreur de genèse' which ends the album magnificently in a more sedate atmosphere before the short instrumental epilogue.
In summary, the French of AnaphorA', after more than 10 years of absence, release a very beautiful album which should relaunch them on the scene of French progressive rock because, it is certain that singing in the language by Molière, is not an asset for the international but, on the other hand, even if it means being selfish, allows us French to add a significant attraction to this very accomplished musical work... | |
