Greaves has occasionally found himself in the shadow of legends, having played with Fred Frith in the influential avant-garde jazz-rock band Henry Cow and later with Michael Mantler and Carla Bley. He also collaborated with Peter Blegvad, who wrote the lyrics to two of this album’s songs. La petite bouteille de linge (The Small Bottle of Linen), the reissue of an album recorded and released 10 years ago, is well-nigh unclassifiable in terms of musical genres. Avant-pop will probably do as well as anything. Some songs have cryptic lyrics while others are very melodic. The charm is in the details, such as in Sophia Domancich’s quirky piano playing, the haunting melancholia of « Rose C’est la Vie » (a French song that is featured in two very different versions), and the brass band on « Le Garon Vert ».
PEC – DIRTY LINEN
