Gilles Coronado
au pire, un bien

Gilles Coronado guitar
Matthieu Metzger alto saxophone, electronics
Antonin Rayon Hammond B3, Clavinet, bass keyboard
Frank Vaillant drums, electronic percussion
Philippe Katerine vocals
Recorded on March 9-11, 2015 at Studios La Buissonne by Nicolas Baillard, assisted by Gérard de Haro.
Philippe Katerine’s voice recorded on March 19, 2015 at Ohm Sweet Ohm by Julien Reyboz
Mixed on April 1-3 by Nicolas Baillard and Gilles Coronado at Studios La Buissonne
Mastered by Nicolas Baillard at Studios La Buissonne
Produced by Gérard de Haro/RJAL and Shreds for La Buissonne
Release date: March 18, 2016

This first nominal leader date of Gilles Coronado places the guitarist in a new outfit among saxophonist Matthieu Metzger, keyboardist Antonin Rayon, and drummer Frank Vaillant. Across a set of seven originals, he navigates an airtight vessel of which every rivet is accounted for. The band’s ability to render atmospheres at once dramatic and proximate is a pleasure to behold, especially in the embrace of headphones.

The steadily mounting trajectory of “La traque” foreshadows the patience of everything that follows. Coronado’s guitar is a mellifluous creature, here and throughout, while Rayon’s organ rolls out an underlying carpet from the depths of the subconscious. Metzger breaks like sun through clouds, yet just as resolutely quiets to a whisper before jumping into a groovier deep end. Metzger indeed strikes the brightest match across this meticulously organized pile of firewood. Between his hard-won cry in the trapezoidal framework of “Des bas debits des eaux” and his skronk-worthy interplay with Coronado in “Wasted & Whirling,” he elicits lights and shadows in equal measure. Rayon’s keyboards are another defining presence, providing bass lines in the space funk of “La fin justifie le début” and choice ambience to the cathartic patterning of “Presque Joyeuse.” Guest vocalist Philippe Katerine joins for the title track, providing an enjoyable departure via an indie pop-ish and semi-satirical tone. Like the album as a whole, it teeters between the introspective and the wild. Slightly off center but never veering off the road, it keeps us in its rearview at all times.