Manivette 2017
Navega!
What is good? ask Occitan troupe who hide serious intent behind a smile to answer their own question in a tuneful way.
It took these troubadours three years to peel off the blissful patina of "Opérette" and revert the past to the forward-leading path, with this album making a detour to the "Artemis" signpost. “Navega!” is neither a retro-trip, then, nor a regional exploration, and the record’s sans-frontiers ideology is manifested from the very beginning, as the instrumental stroll of “Cosmopolida” sets a spring in its step to create momentum that won’t fade away after the title track’s folk swirl has drowned in silence.
Unhurriedly seductive on “Liseron” and understandably dramatic in the blues-shot historical comment “La Balada d’Henri Diffonty” – both tracks boasting a remarkable slider action – the band’s usual theatricality is toned down now, which enhances emotional amplitude of these performances. “Au mitan de la mar” may thrive on a belligerent groove, but “Aquo mi fa mau” takes little more than voice and acoustic strum to move the listener to sentimental waters. So once rock ‘n’ roll and traditional dance got hitched for “Qu es bon” that reveals the ensemble’s riffy mischief, and “Louise B” bared their brass bond, exhilaration reigns supreme – an impetus to drive back to Occitania and dive into its boiling cauldron of songs.
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