Benoît Pioulard - Précis

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 29 / 11 / 2006

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At the tender age of twenty, Thomas Meluch debuts using the pseudonym of Benoît Pioulard on the 'Précis' album, which as a matter of fact does not feature a single word of French. 'Précis' actually kicks off with an instrumental drone that gets overpowered by jangling snares; a whole wall of these to be precise. The tone is set; the songs come in English and the tracks bearing French titles bring atmospheric drones and workouts. 'Pioulard' recorded all of this at home during the past two years and for 'Précis' he edited a range of melodic tracks, including a few of genuinely haunting beauty, with snappy drone compositions and snippets of pleasently loud minimalism to compensate for all the loveliness. Only because you might insist I may compare Benoît Pioulard to both Brian Eno and Elliott Smith. Listening to 'Précis' is like catching 'Dream #9' and going through a sonic experience without the headaches and deafness. Thomas, or Benoît as he prefers himself to be called, is keen on orchestral, even cathedral, arrangements for his slightly lethargic and inert wanderings through the fields of both melody and composition. Even when it doesn't really show on 'Précis' I feel young mister Meluch is very talented. Precise is the tag for this album without doubt. The sequence of 'Palimend' into 'Coup de Foudre' simply is a brilliant moment in time. 'Précis' holds quite a promise for Meluch's future. The apparent blandness on the album will be easily forgiven, as this album never gets any worse. And taken from the very first track, 'Précis' ends as a very agreeable listen.

Track Listing:-

1 La Guerre De Sept Ans
2 Together & Down
3 Ext. Leslie Park
4 Triggering Back
5 Moth Wings
6 Alan & Dawn
7 Corpus Chant
8 Palimend
9 Coup De Foudre
10 Hirondelle
11 Needle & Thread
12 R Coloring
13 Sous La Plage
14 Patter
15 Ash Into The Sky

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