Exposé Online banner

L'Marcœur — L Apostrophe
(Label Fr, 2005, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2007-03-01

L Apostrophe Cover artWith numerous albums out going back to the early 70s, Albert Marcoeur can always be counted on for something unusual, though he’s never predictable. On this, his ninth album in about 32 years, the material presented is a collection of eccentric and experimental ideas run through a twisted blender that is a unique part of this artist’s vision. Elements of folk, pop, industrial, chamber, electronic and quirky art rock swirl around in a bizarre cauldron to never quite blend together, but herein lies the magic of his unique and brilliant “sound.” Add to that the vocals: mostly whispered, spoken, barely sung, with obvious elements of humor strewn within the French lyrical content; it’s both what gives these songs their charm and also what makes them impenetrable to those who are not fluent in the language. If the lyrics were sung in the typical sense, they could enhance and support the instrumental content, but because they are mostly spoken, they often tend to stand in front of it like an obstacle, demanding more attention. That said, there is still plenty here to hold the ear of the discriminating listener, and for those who understand what the lyrics to each of the 13 songs that begin with L’ mean (“L’Example Type,” “L’Intruse,” “L’Épitaphe”, etc.) consider it just an added bonus.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 34, 2005 releases

Related artist(s): Albert Marcœur

Latest news

2021-04-01
New Aristocrats Live Album on the Way – No foolin'! These supreme musicians toured Europe early in 2020, just before touring ceased to be a thing musicians could do, and there were some hot performances captured. On May 7, some of these will be releases as Freeze! Live in Europe 2020. » Read more

2021-03-25
Return of Jerry Lucky's Progressive Rock Files – After much consideration and surprisingly, positive feedback, Jerry Lucky is announcing the launch of the progressive Rock Files podcast, featuring the latest progressive rock music from around the world. » Read more

2021-03-14
Jewlia Eisenberg RIP – The sad news has come out that Jewlia Eisenberg has died. As a founding member of Charming Hostess, Eisenberg changed the face of music, bringing together Balkan klezmer, American folk, and experimental rock in a distinctive blend that garnered much praise. » Read more

2021-03-11
RIP Roger Trigaux – The sad news has come to our attention that Roger Trigaux, the guiding force of Present and former member of Univers Zero, passed away on the evening of March 10, 2021 after a long ilness. » Read more

2021-02-14
SoundQuest Fest 2021 – SoundQuest Fest, first experienced as a live festival in Tucson Arizona in 2010 was created by ambient music pioneer Steve Roach. This 2021 event will unite a worldwide gathering of artists and audience members together for a 3-day online event unique in the realm of ambient music. From March 26-28th a continuous flow of streamed performances, audio-video wonder worlds and deep immersion zones will burn bright on Roach’s YouTube channel. » Read more

More news

Previously in Exposé...

Industrial Soup - A Flagrant Display of Subtlety – From San Jose, California, Industrial Soup is a trio of keys+bass, drums, and vocals+sax, sporting a hard driving and quirky keyboard dominated sound that, together with the humorous lyrics (well......  (1996) » Read more

Random review

Listen & discover

Premier of New Echo Us Video

From the press release:

To Wake a Dream in Moving Water takes from Echo Us' past and spins it into a whole new direction, one closer to traditional acoustic Celtic music than ever before.

To Wake a Dream in Moving Water was composed and recorded during the first few months of 2017. Although Celtic influenced and comprised of a number of re-workings of Irish folk tunes and Breton aires, the album is still in large part new and original Echo Us music that fits right in the Echo Us ‘canon’. “Wake” is a natural progression from “A Priori Memoriae”, which was released to critical acclaim in Europe in 2014.

To Wake a Dream in Moving Water is Echo Us’ ‘Celtic’ album that was planned for a long time but never executed because of the work on the trilogy that came before it. The album title is a typical ‘Echo Us’ play on words which one can find their own meaning.

“It is also both evocative of the Oregon rain, which I am told is not too unlike the rain in Ireland.”(Matthews)

To Wake a Dream in Moving Water is also a comment on conception- which was unintentional when the lyric was written. Matthews surprised himself a few months after writing it, realizing that the song was actually about the nitty gritty, biological workings of what happens when a child is conceived. The folk song it derives from musically describes a courting ritual, one that even today we can all relate to in our own way.

“Come With Me Over the Mountain" in acapella was the musical inspiration for the song, and came into my consciousness after the lyrics were written a few months prior. “ (Matthews)

As with all Echo Us recordings, a number of seeming coincidences resulted in connections being drawn where prior there were none. Another experience of similar capacity was found in oboe samples from A Priori Memoriae that echoed the traditional “May Morning Dew’, also reworked for guitar on the new album.

More recommendations
Paul Sears - Angels & Demons That Play book

Print issues