Songs (Click the -icons for some small realaudio-samples)

1. Une affaire importante
2. Jamais je ne mens
3. Tout le monde d'accord
4. Il ne m'en aura rien coûté
5. Soumission de fait
6. Il fallait bien
7. N'en parlons plus
8. En moins d'une seconde
9. L'épaisseur d'un cheveu
10. Les lendemains qui chantent
11. Au risque de te plaire
12. Repos mérité

Musicians:
- Thierry de Brouwer (vocals, guitar, bass, organ, percussion)
- Aurélie Muller (vocals, bass, groovebox, melodica)
- Samir Barris (drums, percussion, guitar, backing vocals)
- Delphine Sigrist (violin, piano)
- Frédéric van Bever (guitar)
with also
- John Cunningham (guitar, bass)
- Jérôme Bensoussan (trumpet, sax, clarinet)
- Pierre Chevalier (piano, keyboards)
- Mike Mogis (pedal-steel, guitar, shaker, programming)
- Conor Oberst (vocals)
- Nicholas Yaates (guitar, upright bass)
- Nele Smets (backing vocals)

Produced by Melon Galia & Les Disques Mange-Tout
Recorded at studio Feeling (Tourcoign), & studio mobile & studio The Six in Brussels

Design : Dupuy & Berberian.

My opinion

"Melon Galia", the name sounds like a Spanish punkband, but is in fact, says us the Grand Dictionnaire that is the web, a type of melon, "une variété sucrée et fondante de la juteuse et volumineuse curcubitacée".
Just about as fresh, sweet and juicy as such a ripe little melon sounds the heavenly voice of Aurélie Muller, and by extension the music of this Brussels-based band Melon Galia. Often, the singing is in duuo-fom with the somewhat more manly and sad sounding Thierry de Brouwer, and it is this duet that makes for the melodic framework of most of the songs on "Les embarras du quotidien".
Although the lyrics aren't all that cheerful, this cd seems to be hopping. The musical accompaniment (often with discretly blown trumpets) has the specific gravity of for example The Style Council or Everything But The Girl. French-English pop is the reult, a sort of crossbreed between Belle & Sebastian, Isabelle Antena and Calexico.
Released on the french label "Les Disques Mange-Tout" as their full-cd debut, this is certainly a charming CD. It starts with the very nicely designed sleeve & theme, and is continued in the compositions. My "embarras du quotidien" (little daily annoyance) about this cd is that there's not enough tracks that manage to step out of line ("une affaire importante", "tout le monde d'accord", "soumission de fait", "il fallait bien", "l'épaisseur d'une chevue" and "au risque de te plaire" are the best songs). Is there a danger lying around the corner of being a "one song band"?
But well, Melon Galia is the sort of record that comes to you like a light breeze on a hot day in the spring: hardly enough to make ripples on the water (of the pool of contemporary music), but doing a power of good to whomever it's caressing the face. Hey, it's making my lyrical.

And your opinion?
Did I get it all wrong, or was I spot-on ? Do you want to share your opinion about this cd ? Send it in, and I'll put it up here !

This Album in the Press

- Geoffroy Klompkes voor Planet Internet : "De l'exercice toujours périlleux du premier album, les Bruxellois de Melon Galia se tirent haut la main et incontestablement grandis. ... on y sent déjà poindre de la maturité, celle qui leur permet de préférer faire une chanson à faire joli."
- 6Bears : "un premier album qui ne manque ni de rimes, ni de charmes. Un essai original qui porte également un titre qui en dit long, "Les embarras du quotidien". ... Pour tous ceux qui désirent découvrir un nouvel accent poétique à la musique française."
- Mofo : "Ils le font exprès ou quoi? Melon Galia, c'est tout le rayon "fruits et légumes" de votre Delhaize. Ils sont même sur les disques ... Mange-Tout. Cela dit, ils tentent de prouver qu'à peine sortis du chou, ils ne sont pas encore dans les fraises".
- bb in Rif-Raf (ed. ned) : "De gitaarsound balanceert tussen clean en distortion en links & rechts wordt al eens trompet, viool of sax toegevoegd. Helaas gebeurde dit in zeer berekende verhoudingen, wat het geheel een beetje afvlakt. Niet slecht, maar zoals de titel al verklapt een beetje alledaags."
- fd in Rif-Raf (ed. fr.) : " ... Cultivant à juste titre son lopin de fraîcheur,le groupe a surtout cherché à s'ébrouer dans un pré un peu mains carré. le flot des arrangement et de détours (trop) volontiers alambiqués nous ont d'auilleurs un temps sensiblement parasité l'écoute: difficile d'échapper à une trompette concierge ..."

Did you see a good (or bad) review of this album ? Tell me about it !

Where to buy this CD ?

You can order this CD from a number of locations (prices researched on June 4, 2001, but nothing guarantees they still are the same when you read this).

Shop	Price of the CD	Shipping + other expenses	Total	Direct Link
Frontstage	799	0	799 Bef.	Frontstage
Azur	800	40	840 Bef.	Azur
Proxis	733	0	733 Bef.	Proxis
Atrecordings	--	3$	--
Netbeat	--	2,77 euro	--

The lowest price is in yellow, the highest in red. This price comparison doesn't take things into account like deduction of shipping expenses when ordering more than 1 cd, bonus points, differences in guarantees ... Shipping prices are those for customers in Belgium.

Have you seen this record elsewhere on the net, do you own an online-CD-shop with Belgian products in it, or if there's something wrong with my calculations : let me know.

More about Melon Galia:

- website : www.mange-tout.fr, has some pages about Melon Galia here.
- contact : melongalia@hotmail.com
- Melon Galia in 1999 in a reportage in the RTBf show Intérieur Nuit
- site about Melon Galia that was left behind in the same period

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