Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains - Banane Bleue (2 CD) (2021) Hi-Res

Frànçois Marry’s sixth album as Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains evokes warm days spent lounging in fields of clover reflecting on friendship, places visited and journeys which could be undertaken.

Musically, Banane Bleue is more Eighties sounding than previous Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains albums Marry’s previous indie-folk leanings are largely in the background and there are hints of the jazz-pop side of Milton Nascimento. Produced by Finland’s Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Banane Bleue is rooted in internationalism: the France-born Marry has lived in the UK and toured with Glasgow’s Camera Obsurca. The album’s title comes from the concept of the curvilinear, cross-European linkage of cities including Liverpool, Hamburg and Milan. Completed in Athens, Berlin and Paris, Banane Bleue opens with the multi-lingual “The Foreigner”, an aural swoon inspired by train journeys through different countries.

However, the resultant confection is unmistakeably French. Although odd tracks are sung in English the cadence of Marry’s voice, its intimate presence and the see-saw lilt of the melodies is intrinsically Gallic. Dive in, and be cossetted by this thoughtful album.