French TV: Ambassadors Of Good Health And Clean Living

Welcome to the wonderful yet unorthodox world of French TV. The Kentucky progressive rock band has been around since 1983 and have recently released their tenth album Ambassadors Of Good Health And Clean Living.

In the band are Mike Sary (bass, loops, samples), Katsumi Yoneda (guitars), Mark L. Perry (drums, percussion), Takao Kawasaki (keyboards) and Ryuji Yonekura (keyboards).

This just might be some of the weirdest music you will ever here but the band is able to pull this off as they incorporate melodic bits here and there combined with exceptional musical skill. Every song takes you on an adventure that will definitely open your eyes to what contemporary prog rock has to offer. Yes this is experimental stuff but it all makes sense starting with the fantastic rhythm section of Sary and Perry. The bass is big and fat and the drums takes you through so many twists and turns you will get dizzy just listening to it. Often the guitar is biting and just a tad off kilter. I love how the band incorporates spacey and psychedelic undertones to their version of eclectic progressive rock. Keyboards are also found all over the place along with weird sound effects providing the necessary melodic ingredients to make this tasteful to the palette. Describing individual tracks seems a little pointless to me as this is one of those albums that needs to be listened to front to back without interruptions. There is literally so much going on some listeners will need to take a break after track six ends.

Whether you call this experimental, avant-garde or simply complex progressive rock, this album is a real musical trip every fan of progressive rock should at least hear, then decide for yourself. Recommended for fans of Zappa, National Health and Soft Machine.

Track Listing:
1. We're Putting On Our Bulldog Faces (and hoping something good happens)
2. Friendly Pursuit
3. Rocka-Saggy-Baby-Bubba-Shaggy-Baba-Boo
4. Gee, I Wish We Had One'a Them Doomsday Machines
5. Shemp Vs. Classical Economics
6. Metronome Crisis

Added: August 11th 2016
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 2238
Language: english

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