There are three categories of cd’s to review.
First of all there’s the ‘shall I keep it or throw it away’ category of albums that are rated less than 5 out of 10. Then there is the ‘probably never to return to my cd-player’ category of albums rated 6 to 8 out of 10 and finally you have the ‘I can’t get enough of this’ category.

Almost every single release of the French progressive rock band Nemo falls into the last category. It didn’t take me long to find out that the new album ‘SI Partie I’ makes no exception. The opening track ‘Douce Mort’ features everything I like about Nemo. The track is sixteen minutes long and not without proper reason. The track truly is structured as a story. It has a great atmospheric intro, a couple of excellent chapters and of course a solid climax at the end. It’s not like Spock’s Beard (the V album for example), repeating refrain after refrain searching for slight differences within the same scheme.

The fact that the lyrics are in French doesn’t matter.

The music and the emotional singing make the understanding of the French lyrics unimportant. One could even go as far as saying that the unfamiliar French is a blessing because you’re not bothered by any corny lyrical stuff that only takes the attention off what really matters: the music. The length of the tracks also makes it possible for every musician to excel. I love the jazzy bass parts of Guichard, the stunning guitars of Louveton and the dry drumming of Itier, not to forget the prominent keyboards of Fontaine.
I know that there are some Dream Theater keyboards and some Steve Howe guitar riffs here and there, but all in all the music sounds as original as it can be.

The only slightly negative comment I have about this release is that the vocals could have been a little bit warmer and less dominant in the mix. ‘SI Partie I’ absolutely is a category 3 ‘I can’t get enough of this’. The addition ‘Partie I’ in the title is most promising!