Review Summary: This French six piece band has carved out a nice niche (albeit a small one) in the vast world of music where most bands seem to be clones of one another. The unique blend of contrasting genres, catchy instrumentation and sexy vocals makes, if nothing else
Electroswing you say? What the hell is that? Well sir, take club inspired 20's-40's swing music, jazz, house music, and mash it all up and you've got yourself a gumbo fit for a mad man. This folks, is the sound of steampunk fiction, it's quite unlike anything you've ever heard.
Caravan Palace's eponymous debut album gained the band a respectable following in their homeland and her neighbors, peaking at #11 on french charts for 68 consecutive weeks. But you probably never heard of them.
I could go through this review track by track but it wouldn't be worth it, the sound this band makes isn't anything that can be properly put into words. Leave it to say that every track on this album is unique and catchy in its own way.
One of this band's strongest points is its singer Sonia Fernandez Velasco, who's vocal work is not only fundamentally solid, but it has a cute, naughty, sexy tone that teases you from start to finish (see Brotherswing). Her voice is definitely memorable and when she sings, your attention is fully turned to her voice.
The instrumentation is also very solid throughout the album, although nothing quite that special, it's very difficult to find any imbalances on the album, and all members compliment each other at all the right moments. The bass playing here is probably the best part of the instrumentation. The bass booms and bops its way through every track, loud and clear, and is always well executed by Charles Delaporte.
The electronic work is also very well done on the album, although it is sometimes hard to pinpoint, it compliments the instrumentation very well. Star Scat is where the electronics are probably most memorable, where it is used to dub the scat singing to make it sound like Fallout robot would be singing it.
If you are going into this album thinking it's going to be house music with a swing inspired twist you might be disappointed. The album is much more a swing album with house influences as opposed to the opposite. Other than that, there isn't much on this album that will disappoint you. This French six piece band has carved out a nice niche (albeit a small one) in the vast world of music where most bands seem to be clones of one another. The unique blend of contrasting genres, catchy instrumentation and sexy vocals makes, if nothing else, a memorable album worth giving a listen.
Recommended Tracks:
1: Dragons
2: Star Scat
6: Suzy
8: Violente Valse
9: Brotherswing
