Miriodor - Parade/Live At NEARfest

Year of Release: 2005
Label: Cuneiform Records
Catalog Number: Rune 208/209
Format: CD
Total Time: 131:46:00

Miriodor is a silly band. Not in a hysterical sense, or even in the comic book narrative sense that the band's previous Mekano exploited in its booklet. As far as I know, the band members do not wear clown attire, have komodo dragons as pets, or believe that computers are part of an alien conspiracy to set V at the top of the remake list. The band is just, well, silly. Take, for instance, the fact that a large portion of their newest, Parade, strolls with a nigh-frivolous display of diaphanous counterpoint that seems to be bent on turning the Canadian sextet into the pop ensemble of RIO. There's an oxymoron for you, if there ever was one. Yet, ladies and gentlemen, it is a deliciously enjoyable oxymoron, and one that immediately infects the nervous system of the listener with a jittery excitement that tingles the funny bone in ways previously unknown. Yes, it's that good.

And the opening of the proceedings, the unassuming "Pyramide," immediately begins the invasion with superlative, unconquerable viruses. The rather bare-bones drumming of R?mi Leclerc is the deceiving pillar that holds the house of cards that his cohorts develop; a house built with individual instrument lines that coerce into wonderfully original counterpoint. And while not the sole element of Miriodor's charming arsenal, it is definitely the band's top secret weapon and its trump card, leading the way for some of the album's best tracks in the form of "Scarab?e," "Bo?te ? Surprises," and "Gavotte Ch?tive." The gossamer nature of this light, almost childish counterpoint that the band exploits allows for dozens of orchestration possibilities, in which instruments serve a kind of cat-and-mouse purpose in their vying for instrumental lines, and the band leaves no stone unturned in the search for these combinations.

Yet the scope of Parade exceeds the newfound discovery that has granted Miriodor passage into the upper confines of RIO. "Bo?te ? surprises" alternates the aforementioned counterpoint lightness with almost epic passages of Middle Eastern mystery, the tail end of "Bonsai Givr?" is a lesson in sincere and powerful poignancy, "Uppsala" demonstrates perfect understanding of structure as it glides between different musical characters, and "Talrika" is simply smashing with its slightly warped spy movie nuances. Indeed, Miriodor has left behind the constraints that made its previous outing Mekano a bit too homogeneous and unexciting in order to find a style to which no other can lay claim. Sure, there are more than a couple of missteps along the way, such as the mostly aimless stagnancy of "Polar" and the fact that some instrumentals have sections that are, let's say, less than satisfying, but it was a risk that was well worth taking. With it, this sextet has found not only a contrapuntal style of wonders, but the ability to contrast it with the crushing Guapo-like power of "Bo?te ? Rebuts" and leave us all almost addicted in the process. Good God. If things go on this way, we might all just become slaves of Canada in a few years!

Similar artists: Hamster Theatre, Dave Kerman/5uu's, Univers Z?ro

PS: Some of you might wonder what the deal is with Live At Nearfest, the set?s accompanying disc. Well, for one, it shows that Mekano works better live than it did in its original recording. For two, however, it also shows that an hour of it might simply be too much. Consider it a bonus to a very good album.

Tracklisting:
Disc One: Pyramide (Pyramid) (3:38) / Scarab?e (Dung Beetle) (3:24) / Caramba! (0:50) / Uppsala (Sleepwalking In Uppsala) (5:49) / Tartine (Toast) (1:33) / Contr?es Liquides (Liquid Lands) (5:45) / Polar (Film Noir) (6:32) / Bo?te ? Surprises (Jack-In-The-Box) (4:06) / Checkpoint Charlie (3:20) / Talrika (4:59) / Le Cruciverbiste (Crosswords) (5:27) / Gavotte Ch?tive (Skinny Dance) (1:57) / Bonsa? Givr? (Frosted Bonsai) (6:45) / Bo?te ? Rebuts (Garbage Can) (2:00) / Pr?paratifs De Vacances (Getting Ready) (1:17) / For?t Dense (Deep Forest) (6:17)

Disc Two: La C?l?bre Boucle (The Famous Loop) (0:38) / Le R?gne Des Termites (Bugs) (4:08) / Toutes Proportions Gard?es (In A Manner Of Speech) (6:47) / Mine De Rien (Mine Of Nothingness) (3:45) / Singularit? (Aztek Boogie) (5:42) / L'in?vitable (The Inevitable) (5:43) / Mangeur De Masters (A Master Tape Snack) (3:52) / Le Sorcier (The Warlock) (5:54) / Mme X (Mrs X) (7:46) / Le Fant?me De M.C. Escher (The Ghost Of M.C. Escher) (6:15) / Le Roi Soldat (The Soldier King) (4:16) / Pas ? Ce Que Ie Sache, Sacha (Bulgarian Cave) (6:30) / Igor, L'ours ? Moto (Igor, The Motorbike Bear) (6:51)

Musicians:
Bernard Falaise - guitars, fretless bass, turntable
Pascal Globensky - keyboards, synthesizers, piano
R?mi Leclerc - drums, percussion, electronics
Nicolas Masino - bass, keyboards, piano
Marie-Soleil B?langer - violin, erhu
Marie-Chantal Leclair - saxophones

Guest musicians:

Lars Hollmer - accordion, melodica, keyboards, vocals
Lise Millet - bassoon

Discography:
Rencontres (1986/1998) (reissue has bonus tracks)
Tot Ou Tard (1988?)
Miriodor (1988)
Third Warning (1991)
Jongleries ?lastiques (Elastic Juggling) (1995)
Mekano (2001)
Parade/Live At NEARFest (2005)

Genre: RIO

Origin CA

Added: November 3rd 2006
Reviewer: Marcelo Silveyra
Score:
Artist website: www.miriodor.com
Hits: 1931
Language: english