“La Rouge” is Canadian trio, Torngat’s third D.I.Y. recording. Their two previous offerings, “Torngat” and, obviously, “Live At The Bread Factory” were recorded live. Although a petite EP with only five tracks to its Francois name, “La Rouge” thinks itself fancy. It was recorded in a studio (The Farm) after all. These are lovely, (wordless) instrumental pieces. The whole lot of them.
Every so often, Arcade Fire tires of their own Old Englishness (Ye olde loady loadin’) and wants to spice things up with some exotic French (Canadian) art students. Enter Torngat’s Pietro Amato. Amato is learned in French horn, melodion and xylophone instrumentalogy. Arcade Fire knows this and finds it difficult to get ambient without Amato’s mad skills. The two other members of Torngat are, how you say, Mathieu Charbonneau (Wurlitzer, analog synth) and Julien Poissant (Drums, melodion, xylophone, trumpet).
“La Rouge” is a good thing, albeit in a segue sort of way. The best songs are “Nouvelle France”, “Bell Duet”, “Alberta Song”, “La Rouge” and “Bye Bye Sly”. “Nouvelle France” feels like the forlorn film score of a French (Canadian) art house cinema. “Bell Duet” is just that: two hotel front desk bells conversing. “Alberta Song” has a delicate urgency to its beat and shares the polite emotions of Torngat’s fellow Canadians, Stars. Title track “La Rouge” steps onto elevator music turf, sealing Torngat’s fate of yuppie hipster favorite. |