Don’t know about you, but I'm always searching for music that stirs the soul, makes you think, inspires and is quite unique to anything else, and boy does this band/duo do that, it's totally off the wall, it has all the above and more.
Inspector Cuzo consists of Malcolm Laurent guitarist, vocals and Phil Jordan on drums with a cast of others helping out, however, I can confidently say there are no bass players on this album or any others (to know why you will need to look them up).
Formed in 2007 and from Gascony, the duo have a DIY attitude to music and handle their own production, management, bookings, promotion and label and after all that, they are recognised as one of France’s most hard-touring bands.
So to sum up, these two organic farmers ( oh sorry did I not mention that, yes full-time farmers) have played the Download and Hellfest Festival as well as toured the World playing their, Soulful, Funk, Punk Aggressive, loud and Beautiful Rock to crowds who respect and love them, count me in.
*Act Local Think Globa*l kicks this album into gear, basic rhythm with forceful vocals blowing out throughout the song after Malcome whispers the title of the track at the beginning and the end. The song is about a Global shopping list, referencing Coffee, Avocado and Chinese tea. The vocals are softened by melodic backing vocals and if I'm honest I'm not too sure what it's about, but it has a punky funk feel to the song.
“Wolf At The Door” starts with a grungy guitar sound, the pace of this number is slower than the first track, and when the vocals kick in you get a Lou Reed vibe taking you back to the 70s. The song attacks big industries coming into green areas, polluting local farms, and rivers. It is sung with anger and frustration, however, it has some soft vocals which if sung by Malcolm show his range and his feel for the dynamics.
The pace picks up on “Running A Family Farm Is More Rock Than Playing Rock N Roll”, some great guitar work, it's driven hard and fast by Phil on drums, bringing that punk feel to the song. Running a farm as well as playing Rock music has obviously left an impression on these two unusual, gifted and original duo.
“Shenanigans” is the fourth song on the album and it has what I call a chugging rhythm to it, again we get the Lou Reed texture to the vocals. It's a journey in the shoes of a bald-headed man named Bill from Tennessee who meets a girl and starts a family, however, he is unable to leave his music behind and now runs his own bar called Shenanigans, where the band hung out while recording in Nashville, there is section of this wonderful song draw you in, and the end is beautifully sung out by a female singer, I think but Malcolm has such an amazing rage it's most likely him.
The slow and moody start to “The Outside” is reminiscent of Neil Young, and as the song build’s you can feel the passion, anger, and frustration in the vocals, it tears at your soul and you can feel the loneliness of being an Outsider. It does have an epic feel and takes you on a journey, Malcolm keeps changing the feel of this song by using different tones of voice, going from narrating to full-blown-out aggression, quite a unique combination, he feels it.
An acoustic guitar starts this beautiful song “Swallows-Where Are Swallows Gonna Build Their Nest. Nature is struggling to find its natural place in the World, and this is no more apparent than in the countryside, the lyrics reference this fact and as farmers, these two songwriters have written a thought-provoking song.
“Horizon” is the single from the album. Starting with a jingly guitar sound, I really enjoy the hard vocals on this which is accompanied by a soft melodic chorus. There are so many shades to this track. This song was written 15 years ago for the first album but was never finished. Working on a farm together has required the band to experiment with new agroecological techniques to face climate change, this is reflected in this track.
“Rockophobia” is a strange one, and tries to answer the question *what does rock mean today” reverting back to Iggy Pop and his on-stage antics. Aggressive again but with an orchestral playing behind a wild and thrashing guitar. A full-on Rock n Roll feel to this song, but with a pinch of Black Flag mixed with ELO and a bit of Iggy sprinkled in.
“Armchair Activists” is a full-blooded rock n roll song, it's angry and again subtle in parts. It has a great piano sound bopping behind a guitar thrashing out front, I can see this being a crowd-pleaser where the fans can sing along, and love the scream at the end.
This band has an incredible approach to songs which this track “9 Billion Solutions” demonstrates. The beginning is orchestrated and sets this atmospheric song on its way, but after a solum and slow vocal, it kicks in with that full throttle powerful voice taking the song to another level, and then it drops back to slow and melodic as we had at the beginning of the track.
“Saving the Geese” is a protest song criticising the French Government and large cooperations for wanting to kill the band's healthy animals when there was a massive Bird flu pandemic. It's angry and aggressive and hits the mark, it's a full-on no-hold attack on Government laws and big industry, it's confrontational and honest, and sang with passion and concern.
The final song “Swallows Back - When will the swallow return” starts with a haunting guitar which brings a beautiful harmonic vocal which floats above the music, and takes this strongly to the verse which reflects on the swallows returning to the land, and how much they have been missed.
This is one of the most unique and beautiful albums I have listened to for some time. Considering this is a duo, the content of the songs and the constant changes in melody, vocals and moods is something special and needs to be experienced.
01 ACT LOCAL THINK GLOBAL 3:19
02 WOLF AT THE DOOR 3:32
03 RUNNING A FAMILY FARM IS MORE ROCK THAN PLAYING ROCK N ROLL 3:35
04 SHENANIGANS 4:33
05 THE OUTSIDER 7:22
06 SWALLOWS - WHERE ARE SWALLOWS GONNA BUILD THEIR NEST 4:17
07 HORIZON 3:48
08 ROCKOPHOBIA 4:15
09 THE ARMCHAIR ACTIVIST 2:39
10 9 BILLION SOLUTIONS 4:54
11 SAVING THE GEESE 4:48
12 SWALLOWS BACK - WHEN WILL THE SWALLOWS RETURN