Feu Therese - Ca Va Cogner

Constellation Records' output is often said to reflect the expansive, haunting geography of their native Montreal and the vast Canadian wilderness beyond. Having built its reputation on the likes of Godspeed You!, Black Emperor and offshoot A Silver Mount Zion, Feu Therese marks something of a departure from many preconceptions of the label. Opening track A Nos Amours is slightly misleading; rich in whimsical strings and surf-like guitar, it's atypical of the album's overall vibe. Not until the second number, Visage Sous Nylon, are we introduced to the binary Franco-Krautrock frontier explored by the outfit. The impression throughout is very much one of travelling, as cyclical, locomotive beats spur underfoot, relaying to us a landscape far more fanciful than much of Feu Therese's Canadian peers. Slowly, Ca Va Cogner reveals itself as a 38-minute robotic postcard full of beautiful observation and compelling melancholy; a lost droid sending home signals of what wonders stretch out before it. [Chris Cusack]