Amateurs
In the last few years, Les Agamemnonz have established themselves with a sound that is completely fresh, as though reinventing the Surf genre. But, not in a modern way. While many in Surf pride themselves on taking the music where it might have gone, Les Agz have found a space where it feels as though they could have actually influenced the birth of surf. What if the teenage testosterone that propelled the energy for early surf was provided by hop-headed jazzers, pushing the beat with sophisticated musical knowledge as influences?
Their first albums defined their unique sound. Along with inventive, melodic songwriting, and open arrangements, their drummer, André Pasquet, became, literally, the driving force as he pushes the beat like Art Blakey. His drumming is just that expressive and syncopated. Check out the stick work on “Xiphias” from “Amateurs,” the new album, or “Air Force,” which clocks in at a ridiculous tempo of 190 beats per minute, and you’ll feel the fine art of maintaining a steady pulse, but somehow always staying ahead of it.
“Theme” starts off the album in a subdued way, an ode to the style Jack Nitzsche, and gradually builds to a production the size of which would awe Spector. Aided by a two man orchestra, the track swells with a cinematic manipulation of the senses. When you start an album like this, expectations for what follows are very high. The string and horns, as well as vintage keyboards, like a clavioline, appear throughout, making for a rich and fantastically recorded production. “Xiphias,” “Artemis'' are vintage Les Agz, with strong melodies and quick tempos. “J’avoue” (I Confess) is a minimalist, romantic, island mood piece, gently giving us a reprieve before “Air Force” takes off in full flight. “No Shoes No Service” is a deceptively simple party rocker, with a heavily distorted keyboard. “Mt. Capitola'' veers into Morricone territory, but does not rehash the spaghetti western tropes.
“Amateurs'' is, and someone has to say it, the opposite of amateurish. The album title is the first clue to the absurdist humor infused throughout the album. Many of the songs feature arrangements that are so joyfully insane, that they must have been inspired by madmen. As side B continues, the additions to the basic four-piece are nothing short of ear candy– there’s so much going on in “Attention”, I wouldn’t know where to begin when describing, but please listen in headphones for the full effect. “Les Conseils de la Fee Des Lilas,” a theme by French composer Michel LeGrand from the movie Peau d’One (Donkey Skin), is wacky source material, and becomes chamber-surf, with the guitars and flute in gentle counterpoint. The only other cover song comes from Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite album. “Mt. Harissa'' is recast with the energy and tones of a Terry and the Blue Jeans eleki track, infused with that absurdist humor of the random piano.
I still remember the headline in Rolling Stone for the review of “Sandinista”: “The Clash Drop the Big One.” One of the eras most respected bands, who had already proved themselves, delivered something so great, so over the top, that one could have hardly ever expected such a brilliant work of art. Amateurs, the new album from France’s Les Agamemnonz is that mind blowing, and brims with the joy of life.
©2021 Ferenc Dobronyi
This review originally published in The Continental Magazine #30.
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