In all honesty, I swear that this album will swing all parts of your body in ways that you have never imagined! Drenched in the blues of the American South, while it winks at the songwriting ingenuity of Era Vulgaris QOTSA, the latest album of Gros Mene consists of twelve songs that flow smoothly with an elegant swagger that will have you begging for more!
The album opens with “Bonsai” with a lethargically uplifting groove that feels like dragging your boots to the dancefloor but you know that you are the meanest mofo in the room. “La Sarre” comes up next with its howls and its fuzzy guitars and its killer vocals that make you think “French is the new language for fuzzed up desert rock”. The song changes gears with an ease that is only mastered by QOTSA and Primus.
“Television” is next, with perhaps one of the most provocative and intelligent song build-up I have heard in quite some time. Definitely one of the album’s hidden gems for me. “Roulez La Caisse” winds down the pace, starting with a hypnotic spoken and a groove that picks up in the latter half of the tune. Next is “Hollywood”, drenched in fuzzy guitars and a punk rock aesthetic of the kind that makes you wish that you were on the road driving right now.
Yet some of the best guitar sounds in the album are found in “Abortion” while the moog adds an unparalleled flavour. Next are “Dabidou” and “Top Notch”, two of the album’s experimental tunes that border on jazz improvisation. “Corrupteur” steers the album back to its strongest territories with fuzzy guitars and a groovy melody around every corner.
Towards the end of the album, “Bear My Beer” is a song that Jack White would be jealous that he has not written. “Ass Fat” comes next, slowing things down again with hypnotic and experimental feeling, before “Midas” kicks in to close the album with the band’s signature guitar riffing and slides, and a rhythm section that sounds like it was jammed on a basement, but it came out steady as a rock.
In all, together with Patron’s self-titled album in 2020, and the brilliant EP by Greyborn, this is probably one of the grooviest albums I ‘ve listened to in the past couple of years. And the French language only makes it tastier, to say the least. Give it a listen and make some space for it in your vinyl collection! Brilliant stuff!
Words by Ioannis Valiakos
Desert Vulture 