And so, onto the brand-new release from JPL. In between this and the last one there has been a Nemo album, and another solo work, and this time he is back with additional musicians (including two of his Nemo bandmates in Guillaume Fontaine and Jean Baptiste Itier). Mind you, that is no excuse for Jean Pierre to sit back and relax, as he still provides all guitars as well as bass, vocals, keyboards, programming, and percussion. There is a strength in this album, nearly a harshness, as the vocals are full of passion. Combining this with the multi-layered and incredibly well constructed and arranged music creates an atmosphere where the listener is soon inside a world very much of JPL’s making. There is some wonderfully fluid and complex piano underlying some of these songs, and this provides a solid basis for JPL to multi-track guitars so that he then has somewhere to lay some inspirational solos against. “L’ermite” is a case in point, where music goes from layered and bombastic to simple and almost acoustic, before coming back with a real bang.
I feel at home inside the album, able to curl up and let the warmth, power and passion of this album wrap itself around me, as if the rest of the world no longer exists. I keep coming back to it and finding more to enjoy each time, as if I am slowly unwrapping the layers. There is a groove at times, and at others it is more thoughtful, demanding you to pay attention. Complex but never over the top, this is always accessible and completely enjoyable. Yet another great work from Jean Pierre Louveton, and I look forward to his next with great interest.
