Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains
Solide mirage
Album · Alternative · 2017
François Marry’s fifth album refines his band’s combination of African-influenced guitar, French tradition and tender-hearted indie-rock. “Grand Rérèglement” channels thrumming Malian guitar and “Apocalypse à Ipsos” bounces on sweet Ghanian highlife, while “Jamais Deux Pareils” and “Bête Morcelée” mine darker, western rock modes. Even if you don’t understand Marry’s French lyrics, it’s evident he’s a dreamer: wiry and yearning on “1982” and swooning in the classic chanson mode on the sweet “Perpétuel Été.”