Infini

Even though Jean Pascal Boffo is usually associated with the French progressive rock scene, the main comparison spawned by Infini would be to David Torn's What Means Solid, Traveller? — Ok, Torn on an uncharacteristically cheerful day, jamming with Miriodor. The 12 tunes that comprise this album alternate between carnival ditties and witty ballads. The guitar is at the center of the proceedings, weaving multilayered patterns and taking care of all melodies, but Boffo also relies heavily on keyboards and programming. The beats are a bit stiff and lack variety from one track to the next, but after all, they are not the main interest of this album. Tracks like "Toon Town" and "Carnavalse" have a circus-like quality that brings to mind Miriodor or even the avant-waltzing of La Fanfare Pourpour, but for the most part Boffo's compositions focus on lulling mid-tempi, simple melodic themes and rich, developing arrangements featuring backward guitar loops and lots of background textures. Highlights include the pretty "Fée d'hiver," the Torn-esque "Somnambule" and "Ciel-Ether." This is a typical solo album (Boffo plays absolutely everything on it): a bit too homogeneous and overproduced. Each track is rather short and sticks to one or two musical ideas, which may not necessarily be what you'd expect from a prog rock mainstay, but Infini provides a smooth, ear-catching listen and the pleasure hardly fades away with each listen. ~ François Couture, Rovi