Unchained melodies / Très fort / Unchained melodies / Tres fort

Fun and crazy are probably the two best words to describe Kings of Belgium's first release, Unchained Melodies. An improvised instrumental rock trio, Kings of Belgium blend avant-rock with punk-jazz, trash disco, and noise rock. On this first outing, the band consists of guitarist Gil Mortio (of Attica), bassist Pierre Vervloesem (X-Legged Sally, Flat Earth Society), and drummer Al Battor (with Vervloesem in A Group and dEUS). The music runs the gamut style-wise, but improvised rock remains its core, whether it leads to freaky dub rock ("All About Boys Music"), virtuosic pseudo-fusion ("All About Pompeuze"), psychedelic ethnic jazz ("All About Caravans," a take on Duke Ellington's famous theme, with mad uncredited organ), free improvisation ("All About Birds," with Battor on vibes) or vocoder-topped retro-funk ("All About 1982"). Radio surfing and other sampled atmospheres occasionally add an extra layer of strangeness to the proceedings. Fans of Vervloesem (probably the best known of the three outside of Belgium) will find Unchained Melodies more crude than his usual projects, but this album provides quite a ride, led by excellent musicians. Also, although mostly improvised, some pieces have clearly been prepared ahead, like the breathtaking "Caravan" performance and the complex (and exhausting) "All About Hippopotamtam." ~ François Couture, Rovi