Les Flaneurs - Villain

  by Andrew Carver

published: 26 / 3 / 2010

Label: Les Flaneurs
Format: CD

intro

Abrasive and uncompromising debut album from Portland, Oregon-based post rockers Les Flaneurs, which offers a lot to fans of left field rock

From the first licks of guitar, gliding along some peculiar scale unknown to the stalwarts of major and minor chords, and the speak-sing vocals uttering apparent nonsense lyrics about blank canvases and rabbits vs. carrots it’s apparent that Les Flanneurs are going to be a love them or hate-them musical experience - mostly hate, unless you happen to enjoy pop music that pitches its tent out near the fringes. With ‘First Stroke’ having scared away casual listeners, fans of left-field guitar music can sit back and enjoy tunes that acknowledge a debt to Captain Beefheart - they suddenly speed up, then slow down, then pick out a completely different path on tunes like ‘Scary Stuff’ - and Television on songs like ‘The Night’. The band also claims to be inspired by Talking Heads, and some of David Byrne’s phrasing can be heard on songs like ‘Speechless,’ but vocalists Nat Clark and Chris Beck have enough of their own range not to be mere copyists. In fact, once you’ve settled down to the album’s peculiarities it’s a quite a treat to listen to the jab and thrust of guitarists Clark and Greg Cardi, while drummer Chris Brown and bassist Chris Beck keep things on a relatively even keel. Some of the tunes may be a trifle annoying - ‘Traffic’ stands out in this regard, at least until the vocalist gives way to the guitars. ‘Villain’ isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those whose tastes lie out in left field it offers a lot of choice tunes.

Track Listing:-