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La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux — 86-90
(Beta-lactam Ring MT005, 1990/2001, CD)

by Mike Ezzo, Published 2002-04-01

86-90 Cover art

Here is an experimental oddity, the likes of which French bands often excel at — call it a sort of iron fist in an R.I.O. velvet glove. The release is a composite of two previous vinyl efforts, an EP from 1986 and the band’s first full length LP from 1990. S.T.P.O.'s style comes across as very much a studio project, something difficult to pull off in a live situation, in how it utilizes every trick of the avant trade: stark contrasts between chaos and order; blindingly fast jump-cut editing which spans the extremes of dynamics; wicked humor (well, from what I can glean by their attitude anyway...); every instrument you could imagine (acoustic and electric) is employed in painting the S.T.P.O. dada portrait of modern insanity. They appear as an eight-piece lineup, with four guests; all vocals are in French. I dare not conjecture too deeply about influences, but honestly this band makes Art Bears and Captain Beefheart sound positively tame by comparison (and I don't mean that as any kind of derision of those two bands). For those who seek the farther flung realms of no-boundary avant rock, trod by the likes of Motor Totemist Guild, Hunk Ai, The Residents, Ne Zdhali, etc., S.T.P.O. is just what you have been waiting for.

Filed under: Archives, Issue 24, 2001 releases, 1990 recordings

Related artist(s): La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux (La STPO)

More info
http://lastpo.bandcamp.com/album/86-90

 

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