Words: Lance Robson

Photo: George Meluch

The vibrant and strangely familiar ambient-acoustic pop of Thomas Meluch, whose Benoit Pioulard project is one of the most easily accessible and least difficult releases Chicago's venerable Kranky label have ever had the taste & foresight to release, has resurfaced.  The new album, Temper, is set for an October 13 release - a superbly apt choice of season for this long-awaited collection of post-shoegaze recordings.

Meluch, once a resident of the state that eight out of ten people seem to have a relative in, Michigan, now shares a popular town in the northwest with Kranky artists White Rainbow & Valet.  Where stylistic differences primarily arise with Benoit Pioulard’s aforementioned texturally obsessed labelmates is the choice of simple song form and comforting vocals – sometimes presenting decipherable lyrics.  A bastard's description of Meluch's musical output might go something like "an acoustic-strumming Donovan produced by Fly Pan Am," but there's really no mellow yellow to be found here, only tonal images processed in the aural equivalent of Kodak E-6. 

Benoit Pioulard is as much a Kranky artist as Stars of the Lid, Low or Jessamine. But its assimilation into the ranks seems to be part of a return to the variety of the original label roster, one that might lead critics away fans away from the sort of preconceived stylistic checklist that at one time would have bolstered criticisms of Kranky being an obtuse, one-dimensional label.  In any case, it was late 2004 when the Benoit Pioulard demo - the recently re-released Enge EP - reached the hands of the infamous Mr Kranky.

"The four tracks ... evidently piqued Mr. Kranky's interest," says Meluch. "I spent the summer of 2005 recording another six or so songs on his request, which all ended up on Précis, and in the fall of that year I signed with them.  They'd been one of my favorite labels since I was about 13 and discovered Low and Godspeed You Black Emperor ... needless to say, the brief email I received, asking about doing a contract, sent me into a storm of exuberant nonsense language that would've been pretty embarrassing had anyone else been around."

The resulting album made a few Best Of lists in '06 - certainly no cause for embarrassment. After nearly three years of listening to the album, this critic still finds the songs imbued with a sense of wonder and a kinetic appreciation of all life has to offer.  (Note: Précis is being re-released in a special vinyl double pack with the new Temper album, a move sure to make a few vinyl junkies smile.) 

Had Eric Matthews been inspired to follow a Cocteau Twins Victorialand-era production style instead of the occasional Bacharach-esque arrangements developed while recording It's Heavy in Here, the sounds of Benoit Pioulard might not possess the freshly familiar air they do.  Thankfully, Matthews probably never considered the sonic concoction I just plucked from the idea tree.

Temper seems to showcase a more relaxed and an even less atavistic Meluch.  The role of the electric guitar has been somewhat played down and the acoustic bits elevated in the mix, suggesting a rise in artistic confidence, while a penchant for experimentation and field recordings remains intact.

"I love to try anything on a whim, like if a percussion part seems to be missing something I'll walk around the house or the neighborhood with a stick and hit things until I find a sound that seems fitting," he says.  "Beyond the basic compositional elements of a song, though, I tend to enjoy building up layers until it seems time to start scaling back a bit ..."

Textural layering infuses every track on Temper.  While listening to the advance copy, there were a few times when I was sure my computer had shuffled the tracks onto a Boards of Canada tune; however, after the initial handful of seconds I jumped back and realized I was still listening to Benoit Pioulard.  This kind of fleeting comparison should raise no eyebrows, having come from an artist who describes himself as a self-proclaimed lifelong fan of Autechre, but should only highlight the depth and attention to the subtle details Meluch has imbued his sophomore record with.

Finally, take a moment to properly procure this album, leave the confines of your home or office, and venture into the world to enjoy it in the setting it deserves - nature, as seen through the filter of your eyes and ears.

myspace.com/pioulard