Short Reviews [Cafeine - 2000 - "Nouveaux Mondes"]

Unfortunately, I still haven't heard even the first, critically acclaimed Cafeine's album from 1994, so I can't compare it with any of the band's other creations. The 67-minute "Nouveaux Mondes" was one of the latest Musea releases in the past millenium, and it is obviously failed in comparison with their other compatriots' albums, such as Jean-Pascal Boffo's "Perfume d'Etoiles" and especially Taal's "Mister Green", both which were released in the end of 2000 too. Despite the fact that almost all instrumental parts in "Nouveaux Mondes" are played in a quite original, tasty and mastery way, all the vocal themes are extremely accessible and, what really matters, each track here presents different, male or female, singers. (Though, almost all of them are quite famous in the world of progressive; lyrics are in French.) Kaleidoscopic changes of such diverse vocalists, as well as an absence of monolithic structure of the album's compositional conception as a whole, makes this one sounding just like a motley compilation, consisting of neo-prog songs only. However, I am once again going to remind you that all the instrumental arrangements on the album are excellent. So at least those who love the latest albums by The Alan Parsons Project / Alan Parsons and suchlike creations will necessarily love this one too.

Vitaly Menshikov: November 12, 2001