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Review

Over a series of remarkable concept albums, the Luxembourgish band ROME have developed a totally unique 'poetry of longing' which rings out from a dark melancholic mist of rootlessness and which gives expression to a comprehensive feeling of modern forlornness.

The protagonists of ROME's music are the unintentional 'rebels' of Camus ("The Rebel"; original title "L’Homme Révolté"), contemporaries from the turbulent epochs of the 20th century: the banished and the hunted; the despised and the misunderstood – always enemies of dictatorship.  This is what the songs of Jerome Reuter are about, firmly in the tradition of his declared heroes JACQUES BREL and LÉO FERRÉ, (on earlier albums also TOM WAITS and NICK CAVE). As regards content, ROME are inspired by world literature and the observant listener will be able to detect references to and quotations from Albert Camus, Marcel Proust, Jean-Paul Satre and Jean Genet serving to create a new kind of intertextuality between word and sound.

Following on from their EP "L'Assassin" ROME assiduously develop their sound further on the minimalistic, simple singer-songwriter album "Nos Chants Perdus", slowly leaving the apocalyptic realms behind them. Catchy melodies, which exude the timeless atmosphere of the metropolis on the Seine, impress themselves on the memory. The sonorous voice bears the weltschmerz as well as the yearning for freedom and peace. Despite the French songtitles the lyrics are primarily performed in English, while the music is constructed primarily with acoustic instruments: piano, guitar, touches of strings, accordion. The band have largely relinquished electronic elements, which marks this album out as a further stride in the work of this act.

"Nos Chants Perdus" by ROME is an exceptional and valuable example of the art of singer-songwriting, the likes of which hasn't been heard in this concentration and with such gravity for a long time.

The strictly limited first edition comes as a CD in digibook format - a hardcover book bound in linen with special black hotfoil debossing, a 40-page additional booklet, plus a semi-matte art print on high-quality paper and with elaborate "Singer" thread stitching·  Includes all lyrics and photographs by Achim Webel.

Format

Limited CD Digibook

Tracklisting

01. L'Homme Révolté (click to listen)
02. Les Deracines (click to listen)
03. Le Chatiment du Traitre (click to listen)
04. L'Assassin (click to listen)
05. Le Vertige du Vide (click to listen)
06. Les Exigences de la Foi (click to listen)
07. La Commune (click to listen)
08. Sous la Dague (click to listen)
09. Les Isles Noires (click to listen)
10. Un Adieu à la Folie (click to listen)
11. La Rose et la Hache (click to listen)
12. Chanson de Gestes (click to listen)

Additional Info

Please note: this item is limited edition, so we cannot guarantee being able to source it. However, we will make all reasonable endeavours to do so.


The following additional postage rates apply for this item :-

UK : An additional 50p on top of our standard UK rate.
Europe : An additional 50p on top of our standard EU rate.
Rest of World : An additional 50p on top of our standard ROW rate.

Record Label

Trisol

Release date

14th May 2010