Coincidence - 2024 - Mets Tes Lunettes et Ecoute Comme Ca Sent Bon! Vol. 2
(37:48; Castle Records)
1979 saw the release of the second album, originally titled ‘Clef de Ciel’ (‘Key of Heaven’). Yet again this reissue has been retitled, the running order changed, and a track dropped, which all seems very strange indeed to me, making me wonder if there was some sort of licencing issue. While the Llabador brothers were of course at the helm, bassist Barreda had departed while drummer Catlado is credited now with percussion. The rest of the band at this point were Michel Montoyat (bass), Joel Allouche (drums) and Olivier Chabrol (saxophone, piano).
The guys were obviously looking to switch musical tack at this point as the keyboards are becoming more dominant, while percussion is also very important as they try to bring in more of a South American and Latin feel. However, the lack of musical direction hurts them as there is no way I can imagine the band from 1973 playing “Si T’es Reggae / Digging Reggae?”. It is almost as if they have heard “Dreadlock Holiday” and decided they can take that as a direction and produce something interesting. Unfortunately it just comes across as twee and certainly has not aged well.
Of the three releases I have heard, it is definitely the live one which I recommend to anyone interested in this style of music, and while the debut is probably worth hearing, this has too little focus to be continuously interesting.
Kev Rowland, February 2025
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