Caravan Palace, Chronologic - album review
The French and electronic music go together like cheese and pickle.
There's the huge hitters of course - Daft Punk, Justice, Air, Sebastian, Jean-Michel Jarre, Mr. Oizo.
But take a drive through France and surf the airwaves and you'll find many radio stations dedicated to the kind of partly lo-fi, partly euphoric and partly summertime vibes as created here by Caravan Palace.
They have a bit of history themselves of course. Their third album <|°_°|> in 2015 caused a bit of a stir in the electro scene here, and this is their first release since then.
It's softer and more delicate than much of their contemporaries. There's a lot of thought here given to Saturday afternoons in the sun and a cocktail in hand rather than Saturday nights in the club with a rum and coke.
It does make it a bit less of an interesting listen, truth be told, and a tad messy - but that's not to say it doesn't have its highlights.
The final section of Moonshine, when those brass-inspired big beats kick in, is a real stompfest, and it's a shame the song doesn't get the party started earlier with this smile-inducing melody.
The same happens in the other-worldly About You, featuring Charles X - sadly not the leader of the X-Men. Deep, reverberating bass thumps really kick the song up the behind and again turns the final segment into a rip-roaring listen.
But sadly the album can often fall a little short. They experiment with more than previously on this, their fourth LP. RnB, bossa and soul also get a look in. And Melancholia is a perfect example of this with its deep, half-spoken vocals. But it goes off on some real tangents and the piano instrumental doesn't really fit.
Waterguns, featuring Tom Bailey, sounds a little like a Childish Gambino cast-off with its mismatched beats and vocal styles. While the distant, modern-meets-retro Leena also sounds a little messy as it progresses.
Full marks for experimentation - as you'd expect from a French electro outfit. Could do better for the final executions at times.
Rating: 6/10
Caravan Palace will finish their 2020 UK and Ireland tour at Birmingham's O2 Academy on February 1
