Mireille

French pop songwriter Dick Annegarn is a hard one to pin down. On just the first four cuts, he jumps from a solo acoustic piece to dramatically phased rock & roll to an a cappella track to lush, swirling string arrangements in the vein of Scott Walker and Jacques Brel. He has a playfulness that could be likened to a French Paolo Conte or a modern Charles Trenet juxtaposed with sincere and complex song structures, arrangements, and experimental creativity. It is obvious that the original LP ends side one with a beautiful pair of tracks, "Paladin Braconnier" and "Coutances," only for the fact that after the showcase of slippery strings and circular guitar riffs, "Nicotine Queen" breaks in with a folk-funk groove reminiscent of the early-'70s Los Angeles experimental folk crowd, and unfortunately makes the otherwise excellent track seem out of place. The transition, or lack thereof, comes as a bit of a shock, but the album works as a whole if listened to with that in mind and is well-worth getting for "Les Enfants." "Les Enfants," with its charmingly out-of-tune whistle calling to the string section, is an obtuse mini-masterpiece where the strings often take the role of chaotic sound effects until they open up into a harmonious and delicate palate. Mireille is a stunning album in that it accomplishes so much in such a short time and fills the space with relatively few instruments. Again, the only noticeable flaw is how the album flows -- but Annegarn cannot be scolded for failing to predict the compact disc format. ~ Gregory McIntosh|