Monsieur Thibault – Port-Cucu (Dur & Doux) – Monsieur Thibault’s Port-Cucu is far more than the delight it immediately and so very obviously is. Yes, as a band they are a delight but this is far more than just the smile of it all, there’s a depth here, a soul, this is a beautifully detailed body of work and yes, this is probably going to be one of those gushing reviews (and yes there is going to be a need to mention Cardiacs).
Monsieur Thibault are another of those Lyon/Dur Et Doux family of bands that do keep on delivering and once again this is one of those complex but never ever difficult things the French label has a brilliant habit of releasing. Port-Cucu is bright, breezy, alive, Port-Cucu is colourful, fluid, a fluid flowing mix of proper Prog, at times a relaxed French take on Kraut rock, at other times a fusion infused pleasure, at others just pure proper Prog Rock. The jauntiness of that first track and especially the first minute of that opening track might be a little deceptive, dare it be said, just a little too wacky? Do let that opening track and the whole thing flow though, do let it brew, let it evolve, let it unpack and take you with it and you’ll find an album full of so so much to reward. Sung in French and of course that adds to it all, the six minutes of Cartoone, the second piece here, is a glorious piece of properly flowing proper prog rock, a piece of music that takes us through many different coloured fields – Cartoone is just brilliant, the whole album is a constantly changing journey,a whole load of delights – don’t read that as lacking focus, Monsieur Thibault have a very clear identity, a sound, a finger print of their own and really although there are the hints of that Lyon thing in there along with bits of a very French-flavoured Cardiacs, bits of Gong (when Gong were properly Gong), bits of 70s Genesis or Yes in full flow or maybe more Hatfield and The North or the lightness of Caravan and oh that bit there when they went over the points in the train track in just past mid song, that bit three quarters of the way through BBT is just gorgeous while the next piece, Papanari, is just a very very uplifting piece of very colourful progressive fusion.
Port-Cucu is a very colourful album, maybe a little more subtle than the cover art work would have you believe, can’t say I like the cover art that much – C’est bien is just that, so so good, so so belle and a little bit beau as well, de toute beauté. Glorieuse or indeed glorieux, both of them at the same time, this album is both very feminine and very masculine and right now sounding like the jazzy days of Gong and just a touch Ring or maybe Zag and The Coloured Beads, obscure references I know, but it will mean something to some and those two comparisons are once again intended as high praise as we flow on through I-É-Oh-Ah and yet more colour…
Port-Cucu is an excellent album, a delight of an album, never a throwaway album, an absolute pleasure of an album, an album to just really enjoy spending quality time with, go reward yourself…
Previously on Dur et Doux…
Oh there’s loads more Dur et Doux coverage on these pages, it is one of favourite record labels, there do consistantly deliver goodness, trust the one eyes horse…
THE ORGAN 