A self-proclaimed outsider of the electronic world,
Fred Avril doesn’t do things by half. Well before
he had signed on the bottom line of any recording contract,
he performed his first ever gig at the Transmusicales
in Rennes, one the biggest and most respected festivals
in his native France. Equally, he cancelled a series
of gigs just because he had dreamt about it and shelved
the first version of his debut album, That Horse
Must Be Starving, and went back to the studio,
starting from scratch, simply because it didn’t
reflect the energy of his live performances. It has
to be said that Fred Avril has been known to perform
while standing on his PowerBook, or even setting it
on fire. So, it is no surprise to find Members Only
going in new directions with each new track. Difficult
to pin down, Avril likes nothing more than trying new
things, and this album is not short of them, as he feeds
his electronic pop with electric guitars, live drums
and bass, punk influences and syrupy moments.
Members Only kicks off with Urban Serenade,
a soft-spoken melodic slice of luscious chill-out electronica,
complete with funfair organ, street noises, excerpts
of conversations in French and breezy guitars, which
wouldn’t have looked out of place on Air’s
first album, but Moon Safari this album certainly
is not, as the next few tracks indicates clearly. Be
Yourself, an hymn to fashion victims, is a filthy
piece of electro (ba)c(k)lash, and Room, with
its comatose beat and razor-sharp processed guitars,
asserts Fred Avril’s musical persona, but it is
on Can’t Stand You Ex’s Rock Band
that things turn sour. The track sounds like Suffragette
City passed through a blender with Fred Avril giving
it all Bowie-like large. Unfortunately, the lyrics,
in English, let the song down slightly, but this doesn’t
alter the strength of this power pop jewel. Power
treads on similar grounds, despite being less catchy.
After these, As The Music Stops surprises by
it’s tamed atmospheric acoustics. Two of the best
tracks are to be found in the shape of TV Dinner,
a tortuous story about vanity and James Bond-style international
conspiracy, built on a backdrop of tight electro and
found sounds, and on the cinematic Eve +++++,
a stunning ballad that comes complete with delicate
acoustic guitars and cinematic orchestration. The album
is unfortunately largely let down by its closing track.
Fred Avril gets caught up in his joke as he tries to
produce a tongue-in-cheek saccharine ballad and ends
up asphyxiating the bottom end of this album.
Members Only is a terribly disconcerting record,
and require many a listen before one can make any sense
out of this mess, yet, thanks to Fred Avril’s
quirky approach, this album contains some very interesting
moments. Its diversity could appear difficult to deal
with at first, but when finally tames, Members Only
becomes a clever, turbulent and somewhat irreverent
companion to Air’s
top of the class Moon Safari.
3.7/5 |
