French — LPs  

Church rock from 60s Quebec – a surprisingly great set of work that's way better than you might think from the concept! French Canada has always been strongly Catholic place – but it's also one that's pretty creatively inspired, too – so it's no surprise that in the wake of Vatican 2, lots of younger musicians were trying to find a way to get the message across – but in cool, groovy styles that really show the changes in sounds at the time! Some of these cuts are as freaky and fantastic as those heard on psych compilations from the Mucho Gusto label – and others have a cool funky approach – with lots of weird rhythms and offbeat instrumentation that's hardly what you'd expect to hear when walking into a church – and more in line with some of the more experimental rock-mass work from the US. Titles include "Raconte Moi" by Les Nocturnes, "Pierre" by Michel Conte, "Dieu Ne Se Mange Plus" by Jacques Michel, "Rappelle Toi Seigneur" by Steve Fiset, "Si Tous Les Hommes Voulaint" by Touladi & Gilles Jerome, "Ma Petite Esperance" by Les Messageres De Joi, "J'Ai Grand Desire De Votre Amour" by Les Allegros, "Gloire A Toi Tu Viens Nous Sauver" by Operation Jeunesse, and "Alleluia" by Pierre Labelle & Rene Angelil.

Beautiful work from Benjamin Biolay – easily one of our favorite French artists of the 21st Century – even though we've been following his work since the previous one! Benjamin's got a sound that's just perfect if you, like us, dig an older generation of French work by artists like Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Dutronc, Michel Polnareff, and others from that magical late 60s moment when French pop really found its own sound. Biolay's got a way of sliding in the sinister next to the groovy – often with vocals that are spoken as much as sung – and produced to perfection by his own strong ear for unusual combinations of sounds. Benjamin helped launch the career of many other great French acts in the past decade or two – but we still love his own work the best – and an album like this definitely lives up to that faith. Titles include "Venganza", "Marlene Deconne", "Personne Dans Mon Lit", "Confettis", "La Fin De La Fin", "L'Insigne Honneur", and "Tresor Tresor".