Thierry Sportouche of Acid Dragon recently sent me this CD, and I then discovered just how hard it can be to find out any information about an album when Google believes that I was searching for “X-ray” and “Rapture”. But, I refused to give up, and on searching the CD cover guessed that ‘Xbray’ was the artist name for Thierry Exbrayat, who I then managed to stalk on Facebook. He was a bit surprised to be contacted by someone from New Zealand asking about a French language, small release, CD from 2012 but kindly provided me with some background.
Thierry is a guitarist and vocalist who has been in many bands, probably the most well-known of which was the trio Ph7, who released ‘Commissaire Magret’ in 2011. After 20 years of concerts and fun together, bassist Manu Defaÿ had to leave France for work, and the band decided to take a break. It was only when this happened that Thierry wondered if he could write material on his own without his companions. So, he started working without having any idea of whether it would ever be released, but just knew it was something he needed to do. One day he was talking to Jean Pierre Louveton of Nemo (Thierry and Jean Pierre live in the same region and have been friends for a long time) about what he had been doing, and after hearing a few songs, Jean Pierre invited Thierry to record, mix and release an album. Thierry invited Jean Pierre to help him with vocal melodies, and additional guitars, while Manu returned to provide bass. Other friends assisted to complete the sessions. After the album was released they were asked to play some gigs, which they undertook with JPL again assisting, but the band was never expected to be a full-time project and soon folder. These days Thierry is again making music with Jamel of Ph7, with two new musicians in Bêta Bloqués. He no longer provides vocals, just guitar, and loves it!
So, there’s the story behind the album, but what about the album itself? Released as a digipak, with a small booklet containing all the lyrics, it does feel as if it is a project as opposed to a band, but there are some fine moments on here. “Disjointed” is the only song with English lyrics, but what makes this stand out are now the words per se, but the dynamics of the song which is a powerful neo prog number with some great guitar interplay. “Enciélé” is a very different number, both in phrasing and approach, slow and delicate, and somehow very French. What I really like about this album are the amount of different styles from pop rock through to neo prog, but first and foremost these are songs, and good ones at that. No room for egos, it’s all about what is right for the moment.
The album is still available from the record label, and it’s a pretty safe bet that none of your friends will own a copy, so why not stand out from the crowd? Thierry later returned the favour of JP, and appeared on a couple of his solo albums, all of which are also available from the label.
