It's a 1-2 Punch!
Album: Histoire de Melody Nelson
Artist: Serge Gainsbourg
Genre: French Rock
Suggested by: YorkeDaddy
Familiarity: I've read what it's about, as I assume it's in French, and I won't understand a word of it.
1. Melody - The bass is awesome, the drums are awesome, the guitar is awesome, and the guy's voice work is amazing. It's mixed pretty well too.. And now there's some orchestral elements as well. The song slowly picks up and rises to a fever pitch. Towards the end it sounds like an alternative rock song with violins, cellos, and double basses. I love it.
2. Ballade de Melody Nelson - This one reflects the first song, but it's shorter And it's very good as well.
3. Valse de Melody - It definitely feels like a Waltz. A greater emphasis on the strings is definitely good. Great way to mix it up.
4. Ah! Melody - Another great, but short song. So far, this is a near-perfect one.
5. L'hotel particulier - Funkier from the get-go. Every time it starts getting formulaic, there's a little piano trill, or violin melody (lol) to mix things up. It's so, so good.
6. En Melody - A bit of hard rock here. The drums are a bit more frenetic this time, and the fast-pace is a welcome change. First song without actual lyrics, but there are some suggestive yelps thrown in there (basically implying this is a sex song (read the Wikipedia for context)). Alright, it's pretty good. Wind blows at the end.
7. Cargo culte - Last song, and it mirrors the first. It's great. Not exactly like the first song, so it is unique. It's a great song, especially because there are some choral bits in this one. Awesome.
If you can tolerate not quite understanding the lyrics, and are just listening for some good music in the vein of Funkadelic and the like, you'll really enjoy this one. I know I did.
OVERALL RATING: 9/10
Now, lemme have that album of yours. I'm very excited about it!