Propergol Y Colargol: Ode to Roger
Autres Directions in Music / Diesel Combustible

The mysteries surrounding Propergol Y Colargol's Ode to Roger multiply the more one ponders it: Who's Roger and who (or what) is Propergol Y Colargol? And what's the concept underpinning the album itself? We do know that Propergol Y Colargol is comprised of Manu C. and Reno B., and that the duo takes its inspiration from early Kraftwerk, prog, post-rock, noise pop, ambient, and electronica. We also know that the sixteen-song Ode to Roger re-works tracks from the group's premiere album Charly Roger. Songs For Fuzzycandy in collaboration with an impressive lineup of artists including Giardini di Mirò, Helios, Populous, Eluvium, and Tunng, among others.

The tunes themselves are untitled save for the contributors' names and no information is provided to clarify how the tracks developed (one wonders exactly how Giardini di Mirò, Populous, and Propergol Y Colargol collaborated on their shared track, for example), nor whether the balance is evenly split between Propergol Y Colargol and a given artist. One thing's for sure: the album's less a portrait of a singular group identity and more an ultra-diverse overview of electronic styles. By album's end, listeners unfamiliar with Charly Roger. Songs For Fuzzycandy may feel less clear about Propergol Y Colargol's style than those of its guests: from Soundclub, we get vocal-based shoegaze; from Below The Sea, Tortoise-styled post-rock and swooning slide guitars; from Tunng, a folk meditation featuring banjos and voice samples; and from Lapintade, a lilting lullaby of glissandi guitars and harps. Some pieces are intense and aggressive (Bertùf's gaseous glitch-storm belch of heaving blur, and Erstlaub's carnivalesque swamp of bass croaks and hazy electronics) while others are more paradisiacal (Yild's array of glitchy stutters and clock chimes). Not surprisingly, two of the strongest come from the justly-celebrated Eluvium and Helios: certainly Eluvium's presence can be detected on his contribution, though its hazy style is more reminiscent of his previous release (Talk Amongst the Trees) than his latest one (Copia), while Keith Kenniff ends the album with a heavenly sampling of his Goldmund piano style that trumps everything else despite being the most peaceful setting of all.

April 2007