"To start with I’d say that the somehow poetic
title of the fourth album of The Married Monk (MM, a delightful
acronym…), The Belgian Kick, is meaningless. This enduring
nonsense (remember R/O/C/K/Y the previous one) is of an appropriate
aestheticism. To be specific, it is a portrait of a bearded
refrigerant wearing Ray Ban shades and who seems to be coming
from nowhere. I especially love this art of foiling (in this
point you have to call it art) the potential listeners of
MM.
Actually, MM like being where nobody awaits them. Yet, nothing
is planned and their only motivation is to go forward even
if it implies taking steps aside. Presently reduced to the
original trio (a wonderful anglophile singer plus a brilliant
DYI photo-graphic designer-musician and a gifted drummer),
the band has here recorded its most mature and varied album
to date. This diversity allows an incredible balancing act,
making a standing jump from an implacable disco-pop hit (Pretty
Lads) to an improbable slow (Totally Confused) through a rock
injunction (Tell Me Gary) and a swaying ballad (Love Commander);
add to these a transfiguration of an unknown title of John
Barry (You Only Live Twice) or forgotten Captain Beefheart
(Observatory Crest) which will not go unnoticed “ici
ou ailleurs”. Or else, how to cleverly revisit songs
of others - an old habit for MM. And what about the others?
MM just don’t care much. Enough to take out from the
cupboard the saxophone, the most disparaged instrument of rock
history. If I had to write a chapter on that point I would
state that MM is one of the most atypical French bands, and
the twelve tracks of this Belgian Kick are a good illustration
of it. Belgian people won’t say the contrary."
Antoine Jade
For those who would have missed the previous
episodes or would like to go back to the roots, here is a
quick chronology
of well known facts: Christian Quermalet starts playing
bass with les Tétines Noires, who have now changed
their name into LTNO, before joining Swam Julian Swam;
he is given
the opportunity to make a decisive meeting with Philippe
Lebruman. His one-year stay in London is particularly fruitful
since after returning to France he gets back with his companion
to produce "There’s a rub" with Franck another
member who has just escaped from Swam. Rosebud/Barclay
welcome the
three of them with wide open arms.
Arnaud holds the bass during a long French tour including
a landmark gig at Les Transmusicales de Rennes, followed
by a 4-track E.P. entitled Will you get on with the Married
Monk? before forming a band called Emma.
Year after year the musicians change but the inspiration
remains the same. Thus the band releases a second opus,
"The Jim Side, produced by the spirited Jim Waters (John
Spencer, Little Rabbits, Sonic Youth…). The band instantly
establishes itself on the French musical scene in spite of
its English
lyrics and its rather unorthodox pop compositions which stand
far from the basic rock sounds the public is used to. In
1997 Franck passes the drumsticks and cymbals on to Jean
Michel Pires before hitting European roads. Called by the
sirens of the electronic, Stéphane forms Bosco.
In 1999, they meet with Yann Tiersen who is looking for
musicians in order to widen his musical spectrum and get
closer to
rock music after years of solitary research. After a long
tour and a now mythical black session, the recording of
the "Tout est calme" E.P. is a perfect illustration of
the relevance
of their cooperation.
The talented Fabio Viscogliosi (Microbe Records) and Christian’s
brother, Cyril, take the command of the guitars and keyboards
on the recording of the terrific "R/O/C/K/Y", a third album
which enables the band to show that, as far as arrangements
are concerned, its skills are infinite.
The press is unanimous to hail their talent and their way
to success seems to be all mapped out. A way The Married
Monk is definitely ready to follow with this "Belgian Kick".
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