MIRIODOR - PARADE + LIVE AT NEARFEST

MIRIODOR - PARADE + LIVE AT NEARFEST

Disc 1 - Parade . . . . . 63:39
1. Pyramide . . . . 3:38
2. Scarabée . . . . 3:24
3. Caramba! . . . . . 0:50
4. Uppsala . . . . . 5:49
5. Tartine . . . . . 1:33
6. Contrées liquides . . . . . 5:45
7. Polar . . . . . 6:32
8. Boite à surprises . . . . . 4:06
9. Checkpoint Charlie . . . . . 3:20
10. Talrika . . . . . 4:59
11. Le cruciverbiste . . . . . 5:27
12. Gavotte chétive . . . . . 1:57
13. Bonsai givré . . . . . 6:45
14. Boite à rebuts . . . . . 2:00
15. Préparatifs de vacances . . . . . 1:17
16. Forêt dense . . . . . 6:17

Disc 2 - Live at Nearfest 2002 . . . 68:07
1. La célèbre boucle . . . . . 0:38
2. Le règne des termites . . . . . 4:08
3. Toutes proportions gardées . . . . . 6:47
4. Mine de rien . . . . . 3:45
5. Singularité . . . . . 5:42
6. L'inévitable . . . . . 5:43
7. Mangeur de masters . . . . . 3:52
8. Le sorcier . . . . . 5:54
9. Mme X . . . . . 7:46
10. Le fantôme de M.C. Escher . . . . . 6:15
11. Le roi soldat . . . . . 4:16
12. Pas à ce que je sache, Sacha . . . . . 6:30
13. Igor, l'ours à moto . . . . . 6:51

Total Time: 131:46

Line-up: Pascal Globensky: keyboards, synths, piano - Rémi Leclerc: drums, percussion, electronics - Bernard Falaise: guitars, bass, turntable - Nicolas Masino: bass, keyboards, piano - Marie-Soleil Bélanger: violin, erhu - Marie-Chantal Leclair: saxophone

format: Double CD • Cuneiform Records Rune 208-209 • release date: May 10 2005 • "Parade" mixed by Pierre Girard and Miriodor, "Live at NEARfest" mixed by Bob Drake • Miriodor's official website at: http://www.miriodor.com

Their most captivating album to date, and the most memorable, mature and perfect album in their long illustrious carreer that spans two decades. For those non familiar with their Music, Miriodor plays a style of music known in prog circles as RIO (rock in opposition), a musical genre made famous by eclectic bands such as Univers Zero, Present, Henry Cow and 5UU. This musical genre could be described as "chamber music rock", throwing away all conventions of classical prog music, with either a very structured, minimalistic approach, or an elaborate, improvised, experimental style. A daring move of Miriodor to release a double CD... their long-awaited Parade album, which features tracks that have been performed by the band for the past two years, and as a great bonus, the second disk, Live at NearFest is their great performance at the NearFest 2002 prog music festival in Trenton, NJ. Truly an astounding live performance of their best-known pieces.

With the contribution of legendary accordionist/keyboardist Lars Hollmer (of Samla Mammas Manna) accompanying the group on a few tracks, Parade + Live at NearFest is some of the most stimulating, challenging and truly entertaining music I have heard this year. Impressive compositions with a high level of discipline and complexity, and a lot of variety in their sound, from jazzy to eclectic, to industrial, sometimes even intense and somber. It's hard to imagine that an album can rival the incredible quality of their last CD, Mekano, but Parade does! The production quality and level is simply impeccable. The mixing the live portion of this album can only be described as a technical marvel, thanks to the genius of Bob Drake.

My rating for Parade + Live at NEARFest : 9/10(album reviewed by Robert Dansereau)