b r a n d o n

I know I will be in the minority here, but Attente is easily my favorite of all ProgQuébec's excellent reissues thus far. Combining jazz and African music with the abandon of a jam band at their loosest, Toubabou's only studio album (which actually came out a year after their live album, Le blé et le mil) is an intense fusionish ride all that way through that's made unique thanks to extremely liberal use of complex African polyrhythms and hand drumming. While Le blé et le mil sounds like a fun, loosely-structured jam session, Attente is more tightly composed and leans closer to Western fusion than African music. A representative example is "Ambush" — on the previous album it's a lengthy jam that overstays its welcome by a few minutes; but here it's turned into a tight monster of a track that drips with sweaty funk. Healthy doses of horns and Fender Rhodes make this funky high-energy song a favorite of mine. My other favorite is "Doudou à la Toubabou," which also happens to be the only other song that also appears on Le blé et le mil. This extended track moves between several different but equally excellent parts, from a relaxing opening section featuring a nice piano melody accompanied by undulating, wordless vocals from Lise Cousineau to a funky bass solo to a smoldering guitar solo. Two things set Attente apart from other fusionish albums. First, Lise Cousineau's vocals are beautiful, akin to Christiane Robichaud of Contraction, and often unique, as on "J'Freak assez" in which she basically wheezes rhythmically and manages to make it sound good. Second, and most important, is the heavily-layered, rhythmically intricate African drumming that's almost ubiquitous throughout the album. This drumming isn't artifically tacked on, but instead is integrated beautifully into the compositions; the band's work with famed Senegalese drummer Doudou N'Diaye Rose (who is featured on Le blé et le mil) clearly enabled them to use these compositional elements effectively without sounding fake or condescending. If tight, funky prog-fusion with an African bent and a distinctly Québécois feel sounds like a journey you'd like to take, Attente is your ticket. review by Brandon Wu — 9-21-05 —