To some, the combination of French pop, laptop pop, glitch-hop and oddball sounds like those created by the Beat Happening, the Moldy Peaches and early Sonic Youth might seem like a terrible idea. In most cases, those skeptics would be very correct; if attempted by an average band, the results could be disastrous. It’s like walking on a tightrope - the only way to make it to the other side is by keeping your weight perfectly in the center the whole way across, and only tightrope artists can do it. Likewise, Gablé are talented tightrope artists who walk perfectly across the precarious music-amalgam, 7 Guitars with a Cloud of Milk, and in doing so they have actually produced one of the greatest albums of the year.

The content of the songs take on issues as random as the music’s sound - suicide, the state of urban music, self-realization, cats and drunk foxes. I’m convinced it all somehow connects anyway, though, and I’m just not perceptive enough to spot those connections without someone telling me what they are (You know, like when you read a Nabokov novel and you realize how much more beautiful it really is only after a professor explains all the intricacies of his art). I have this inkling because even though there are so many sounds attacking you from different places and influences, this undeniably experimental French band has found a way to make it all mold together so that it ultimately doesn’t sound experimental or French. And that’s so cool!

Some standout tracks are “Old Policeman,” a song that starts off like a moldy peaches guitar sing along and then turns into a fast, bouncy & funky rap (the transition is flawless), and “Pureé Hiphop,” a track that’s an all out glitch-hop fun-fest from start to finish. However, there isn’t one song that I dislike.

Listen to the whole streaming album here and decide for yourself.

Buy here (not on Amazon yet).

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