Monsieur Periné – Hecho a Mano

Release Date: 20 June 2012
Label: Flowfish Records

Tracklist:

1. La Tienda de Sombreros
2. La Ciudad
3. Suin Romanticon [MV]
4. Sabor a Mi
5. Cou Cou [MV]
6. Huracán
7. La Playa
8. Ton Silence
9. Be Pop
10. Nada Puro Hay
11. La Muerte
12. Swing With Me

Again I’m at the mercy of a member of the YAM Magazine team. This time I had the great pleasure of listening to Monsieur Periné, an outfit out of Colombia that fuses jazz, swing, pop, and, of course, a little bit of Bolero to bring us an eclectic sound that’s probably some of the happiest music I’ve ever heard.

The band’s debut, Hecho a Mano (Made by Hand) is actually a glorious piece of music. If we’re taking it at face value alone, it’s the stuff smiles are made of. Let’s be real, when you’re a group that got a lot of recognition for your interpretation Belleville Rendez-vous, the only thing I can truly expect from you is fun times and never-ending smiles. And that’s what they deliver with this album — pure sunshine.

Though very much a proponent of jazz, the Parisian flavor they add to each song is a welcome surprise. Their songs speak of romance and wine, love and all its many ups and downs. It’s smooth 1930s French jazz at its best without all the pretense or even the snootiness associated with the genre. The lyrics are playful yet incredibly endearing – lyrics like “I float like the stars, I spin like a purple cloud” (La Playa) — or even a bit cheeky — “I couldn’t help my curiosity. Two days in front of your computer, I decided to look and I saw your entire private life” (Nada Puro Hay).

Every track on Hecho a Mano is a delight. In all honesty, it reminds me a great deal of Benoît Charest’s arrangements for Les Triplettes de Belleville, fun and classic Franco-jazz that’s equal parts silly and dark. Lyrically the album treads on the lighter side of the spectrum, never treading into fare that’s too heavy. After all, as with the overall flavor of the group, the album is very positive and open, sunny and full of love. It’s like a bakery — yes, there are a few things that may be a bit too heavy for you, but in the long run everything is meant to make you feel good and make you smile.

Hecho a Mano is a truly fun album. I was totally pulled in from the first twining plucks of the guitar on the album and was pleasantly surprised to hear some of the smoothest French jazz-fusion I’d ever heard.

Rating:  

You can listen to Hecho a Mano on Xiami and the band’s Soundcloud. You can buy it at Amazon and iTunes.