Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. I don't know if they have bears in France but they do have a band called Ed Wood Jr and they seem determined to get you with their album "Silence".
I don't mean that they have written a bundle of twee, radio friendly songs for they haven't. As a band, they have no fear of complexity and you will be hard pushed to find anything to sing along to amongst the monosyllabic vocals, random samples and oddly structured tempo changes. However, "Silence" is album that seems determined to make an impact if only for the plainly obvious intelligence and effort that has gone into its creation. Right from the outset on the metronomic powerhouse "Maila Nurmi", Ed Wood Jr provide evidence of an ability to stir thing up in a way that few American rock bands would ever manage to do. With the somewhat nervy "INCV", the band step confidently through Don Caballero territory into a retro world of testosterone fuelled electro rock and, even at their most conventional, such as "Oktobre", Ed Wood Jr seem almost duty bound to throw in an unexpected change of direction.
Ed Wood Jr certainly aren't mainstream and it has to be said that many people will not be able to accept the complexity that a band like this bring to their music. However, those of us who still value imagination and musical dexterity will find much to enjoy and admire here.