After a quarter of a century of silence, French prog band Raison de Plus resurfaces with an expected 2026 album that really made me smile. 1995 saw the debut Au Bout du Couloir and six years later, Ici Est Ailleurs showed up and was just as well received by the prog public, my review being in 2012. This third album was recorded between 2023 and 2026, the core trio of keyboardist, guitarist and lead vocalist Dominique Marrion, Jean-Louis Henriet on guitar and lead vocals as well as Phillipe Rose on keys and flute still together after all these years, adding a new rhythm section Claude Cordier drums and Jean-Paul Arnoud the bass player. French symphonic prog is stylistically immediately recognizable, as a highly theatrical presentation that relies on the French language’s dramatic tonalities, a little more child-like and dreamy than the RPI from Italy which adds a lot more boldness to its recipe. Whether we talk of Ange, Mona Lisa, Atoll or Minimum Vital as well as more recent efforts from Nemo, JPL and many more, the vocals and lyrics should be treated just like another instrument, as the musicians are by and large hugely talented. There are nine tracks, nothing beyond 9 minutes , compact musical chapters that possesses both continuity and variation, keeping the interest level acute and responsive.
“Univers Paralleles” wastes zero time on creating corresponding spaces, a bouncy affair with all the instrumental elements well established, you just have to imagine yourself somewhere among the verdant hills of Lorraine (the band is from Nancy) . Advocating their classic soft symphonic style, “2020” exhibits a vast array of variations, twists and turns, never overtly show offish, just clever and entertaining. It can be quirky one second, playful the next and then dive into some denser realms.
Clocking 6 minutes on the ticker, the tragic anti-war “Innocents” has a more Genesis-like feel due to the acoustic guitars, the velvety keyboards and vocals that express low-key chagrin, eventually building up some choral expanse that evokes an elegy, drenched in ‘mélancolie’. Arnoud does peel off a few stunning bass lines that please the soul, while the lyrics deserve a translation as they are quite pointed (Should you purchase the CD , the lyrics are translated into English, for your enjoyment). Bullets flying, taking toll.
The band offers always more on “Toujours Plus” where the arrangements get an even wider symphonic berth, the dual keyboards marshaling up quite the performance, layering cascades of string synths on top of organ flurries and twinkling piano motifs. This is a definite highlight track, with just the right dosage of grandeur and interplay, a well-oiled unit entirely in sync melodically. Based on a modern interpretation of the classic Alice in Wonderland, where ungrateful computers, intolerant board offices led by obsessed dictators, collapsing projects caused by limits pushed to impossible expectations replace the White rabbit, the Cheshire cat, the Mad hatter and all the other rigid Victorian purist characters. Its just a 21st century variation on what is also known as a ‘progressive society’. More is less, or moral less, your choice.
The title track can be translated as “the bets are off”, a theatrical socio-critical piece that claims that Gargantua has helped himself to the remaining crumbs (time to whip out your Gentle Giant albums), the continuous struggle between the haves and the have-nots has been a mainstay of French history even before Charlemagne or even Vercingetorix. The music comes across as a prog operetta, something that the Decamps brothers (Ange) excelled at and still do. The piano, bass and drum choose the jazz route while the guitars scream out in over contempt. The ardent vocals are gluttonous, insatiably condemning the overpowering greed by the elite, especially this in power. Any yellow vests hanging about?
Walking the textural tight rope on the acrobatic “Funambules “, keeps the onus on the ongoing battle between primitive mindsets and progressive values, often a balancing act that has shown their ugly side, extremism replacing debate, and reducing every colour in the universe to two shades of grey, everyone knowing everything but understanding nothing.
“L’Étrange Machine” needs no conversion, as the resonating e-piano/clavinet swerves between the bass lines, both setting down the runway lights for the odd musical engine to take off and soar into the blue skies above. The guitar fueled ascent is noteworthy, the entire flight settling into cruise control, slicing through ominous layers of cloud, perhaps even thunder and lightning. Razzle-dazzle technology promising only miracles ; ‘This fantastic machine can make anything happen; quantum particles materialise your thoughts. Are you ready for the experience?” Micro-chip prophets, algorithmic healers and saints, when in fact, processor charlatans.
“ La Complainte de Rais” is the epic eight and a half highlight moment, reminiscent of vintage early 70s symphonic prog, anchored in a beatifying melodic paradigm that soars majestically. What better historical subject matter than ‘ la pucelle d’Orleans’, the defiant Joan of Arc remaining a mainstay of French culture, but here referring to a captain who fought alongside her. Gilles de Rais remains a controversial figure to this day, convicted of unspeakable crimes that may have been fueled by political deceit, very much like with Joan and also much later with the Dreyfuss affair. Voltaire for example, in his usual clever manner, ‘hinted’ at possible innocence, which is why he lived in house on the French -Swiss border, just in case his mouth got him in trouble. And some people actually believe that conspiracy theories are a 20th century creation! This is quite the prog journey.
“Inspiration” tackles the horror of not being able or willing to compose memorable musical ideas, a form of writer’s block that can suddenly overpower even the most talented geniuses. An analysis of empty pages, blank screens, stored instruments, dead keyboards (the ivories as well as the one for the computer), abandoned tapes, as well snippets of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. The band definitely found their muse , as this is an excellent voyage.
This is another reason (pun intended) to maintain their renaissance and not having us wait another 25 years of silence. Hurry up, AI is upon us.
4.5 roulettes