Once upon a time in Neuchatel, Switzerland there was this band called Debile Menthol who played Rock In Opposition in the vein of Samla Mammas Manna, Etron Fou and Henry Cow and with a sort of minimalistic approach that reminds Massacre (Fred Frith).
Founded in 1979, this band managed to record only two albums – Emile Au Jardin Patrologique (1981) and Battre Campagne (1984). Both albums were released by RecRec which is a Swiss label that was created in order to release their albums. RecRec has re-issued those two albums together as one release (2-CD case) with bonus tracks (1994).
The first album is rather cheerful sounding (with occasional darker parts), jazzier and has a large lineup consisting of 9 members (playing on violin, sax and clarinet among others). This album can appeal to Samla Mammas Manna and Miriodor fans. The second album had a smaller lineup and the sound changed a bit as well to a more fierce sound (and more similar to the Massacre sound than the Samla Mammas Manna sound, although the eccentric touch of the Swedish band is still there). Overall this is a weird sounding band, which created a mix of quirky rock, punk, fusion, free jazz and plain eccentricity. The lyrics (when there are any) are being spoken (sometimes at high tone) in a non-melodic style (not sung and to me reminds of Massacre and The Clash) in French and filled with satire and humour (as their name might suggests). During their tours the band was under financial and personal stresses which lead to its disbanding and the creation of two other bands mentioned below.
Related bands:
Nimal - Guitarist Jean M. Rossel formed the more folk-influenced Nimal with 'cellist Tom Cora drummer Pippin Barnett and others -
http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_BAND.asp?band_id=2149
L’Ensemble Raye – Cedric Vuille and Jean Vincent Huguenin went on to form this group -
http://www.ensembleraye.ch/
Emile Au Jardin Patrologique Studio Album, released in 1981
his album by Debile Menthol is my first experience with the band, and it’s one to remember. I don’t know if the musicians ever went to music school, but if they did, they forgot any lessons about allowing the listener to breath. This is a good thing, however, as the result is that we are presented with a non- stop assault of pure energy. And you may not realize it, but pure energy can stand on its own for quite some time, and even longer when coupled with great ideas, as is the case with Debile Menthol’s Battre Campaigne. These elements combine to make this one of my favorite RIO/Avant albums (automatically making it one of my favorite albums in my collection, as RIO/avant is perhaps my favorite prog subgenre, though, if only for CAN, Krautrock runs it close competition).
Right from the opening moments of this album, we know we are in for quite a ride. Bim-Bam is about as condensed as energy gets, and, as I pointed out earlier, it is combined with great ideas, resulting in an amazing opening song that truly sets the tone for the album (and what a tone it is). The vocals that come on top are as frantic as if not more frantic than the music. Their vocalist, like with Topi Lehtipuu of Hoyry Kone and especially Damo Suzuki of CAN, has the ability to make the music itself make more sense. Sure, he sings in French, but language should not matter when it comes to music (and I happen to like the sound of French, though there really aren’t any languages I don’t like). The rest of the album is in a generally similar vein as Bim-Bam, but without sounding repetitive. For example, the song A Quoi Pensent-Ils (what are they thinking?) is generally subdued (on the surface), relying more on subtle bass work rather than pounding drums, but it is equally as strange and effective as Bim-Bam. Avalanche takes a new direction altogether, focusing more on combining avant-garde ideals with great melody, similar in nature but not in sound to Frank Zappa’s work.
What all of this results in is an album where we are presented with a diverse selection of music sure to give everyone something to enjoy (and, for RIO/avant fans like me, a whole lot to enjoy). They have managed to successfully create a unique sound, one that is enchanting and enticing, always engaging, never boring, and quite rewarding. If you like adventurous music, and don’t mind if, at times, it seems strange and “out there,” this is the perfect album for you. It probably won’t ever be regarded as a defining RIO/avant prog album, but it certainly deserves to be in every prog collection. A very fun album, and highly recommended.
Report this review (#115863) | Posted Wednesday, March 21, 2007 | Review Permalink
Sean Trane
(Hugues Chantraine)
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Prog-Folk Specialist
Almost three years after their first album, Debile Menthol returned to the studios to record their second (and last) album with a slightly reduced line-up, being only a septet by then, but surprisingly with such a large group, all seven were around since the first album. Musically speaking, Debile Menthol’s music is just as crazy as before (if not even more so), certainly more demented and vigorous and chaotic, sometimes approaching dissonance. The album is also much more sung, and the vocals are much fun (they used an outside lyricist) if you understand French. The album is much faster and synthesized than its predecessor, sometimes reaching post-punk speed like XTC, Squeeze or The Knack, but being much more complex and often changing throughout one number, a bit like a Zappa tune.
The vocal bits are often grotesque, inducing a sense of lack of seriousness, but this does not affect the music too much, a bit as if Zappa’s crazy vocals would’ve stopped you from enjoying the rest of his music. Only the closing Cul De Sac seems to stand a bit out of the rest of the album as it sounds like early Univers Zero somber acoustic modern classical music. While this album is probably more complex, it seems that in the long range, it was less influential than its predecessor. Probably best to start with their debut, rather than this one.
