Sunday 25 January 2009

Review - Le Skeleton Band - Preacher Blues

Le Skeleton Band - Preacher Blues

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4 out of 10

It all started SO well! I'm always a little bit intrigued when anything is likened to the wonderful Tom Waits, and always a little apprehensive, so it was with some trepidation I slipped this shiny little disc into my laptop. As the first track drew to a close, hopes were still high. Sounding a bit like a French Tom Waits jamming with Neil Hannon and Murder by Death it put me in mind of a smoky Parisian back street bar, populated with drunken sailors and ventriloquists, and probably some overly painted hookers too. It's a wonderfully sinister song, soaked in Whiskey and made all the more mysterious by being in a foreign language.

Sadly it all goes a bit wrong after this. Instead of the wonderful lyrical French the vocals are sung in English, with a very pronounced French accent, which ends up a bit too close to the cast of 'Allo 'Allo singing from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. It's a real shame to say, because there are moments of near brilliance, and the whole thing does pick up a bit for the last couple of tracks which are in French again, but it's just a little bit too pantomime for its own good, sadly.

Listen: www.myspace.com/alexandtheskeletonband

Tracklist:
1. Vous Ne M'aurez Pas Cru (Part 1)
2. L'Automne
3. Hunter's Knife
4. Empty Head
5. The Fall
6. Random Man
7. Jesus Trust in Me
8. Hard Pavement
9. Fils, Mon Cher Fils
10. Vous Ne M'aurez Pas Cru (Part 2)

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