Customer Reviews

Ma Fleur

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There have been plenty of professional reviews of this album that have either loved the new direction that TCO has taken or lamented the passing of a torch-bearer of new jazz. I have to say that I feel both ways. I must pre-condition my review by stating that I am a huge fan of TCO. I own Horizon (a little known release) and have multiple copies of live performances through the years, including their Solid Steel works that are excellent. My interest in them stems from a love of the symbiosis of jazz and downbeats that they perform better than anyone.

When I first heard the single "To Build a Home", I thought it beautiful. I eagerly wanted to hear the rest. When I heard the rest, which is a significant departure from their earlier work, I was a bit let down from the perspective of "jazz and downbeats", but willing to give the album a real listen. My overall impression is that the album is good, but not great. Event the tracks that are closest to the old-TCO style are not as strong as previous work (and sometimes is previous work). Most of the album has replaced the jazz with vocals and replaced downbeats with sparse orchestration. As a result, the album leaves you a bit cold.

1. "To Build a Home". Beautiful track featuring Patrick Watson and piano. My initial reaction has faded into disinterest due to its simple structure and sparse orchestration.
2. "Familiar Ground". Is basically a rehash of their Solid Steel work with the exception of the sweeping sax in the original is gone, losing some of its flare. Fontella Bass is still here, which is great.
3. "Child Song". Closest song to "jazz and downbeat" TCO. Great.
4. "Music Box". Sparse acoustic guitar, with Watson and Lou Rhodes which remind me of a song you would hear in a spa somewhere. Nondescript and empty of signature TCO arrangement.
5. "Prelude". Simple orchestration that seems to want to build to something, but never does.
6. "As the Stars Fall". Another song that hints at older TCO, more along the lines of "Motion" than "Everyday" as far as pace and sound.
7. "Into You". Brings back the sparse acoustic guitar but with Patrick Watson singing almost in the background. Again, nothing special and is gone before any resolution is generated song-wise.
8. "Ma Fleur". A simple orchestration of guitar, bass and sax that builds on a single theme with what seems like a bridge rather than a song. I could see how one could claim that this is similar to Paul Motian's work in its sparseness. It's interesting and has grown on me.
9. "Breathe". A Fontella Bass song that I like and does hint at old-TCO type arrangements. It is slow, however, and takes some listens to warm up to.
10 "That Home" Another Patrick Watson song that revisits the theme set in "To Build a Home" with piano and cello. Beautifully written if not simple in form. However, it finishes before any resolution (again).
11. "Time & Space" . A plodding song of bass and vocals that evolves into a more TCO-type song with piano and a Swincoe background downbeat. The first two minutes are boring, with the last six having some real merit.

So while I like the album, I wish it had more of what I like TCO for.

After having heard all previous albums, I was surprised to hear the vocals - but they mesh so well with the Cinematic sound. Each song flows well from one to the next, and from the last to song back around to the first... if put on repeat...it's a fabulous concept album; a short story or perhaps a novel put to music. Listen to it forward and over again. If you like their previous outputs, and you can get into both the pop/ethereal and RnB/hip hop vocals you get here, you just may get into this.... a la Fila Brazillia's jump leads or Jazzanova's latest series of Secret Love compilations. And I love the photos included with the CD - must buy for fans.

This album has been out a couple months now... I've been a Cinematic fan since Everyday and have picked up everything they're released with excitement and delight. Never have I been let down, nor do I expect to be. I didn't jump on this album the day of it's release because I had read mixed reviews and maybe that is why I got a pleasant surprise when I decided to put my trust in the musical genius of this fantastic group of musicians.
Ma Fleur is great. The problem is, very much like Air, their new albums have a more simplified sound whereas their earlier releases nearly exhausted the instruments they may have had at hand. Air's Pocket Symphony took this path and Cinematic's Ma Fleur did as well. The rich orchestrations and complex movements found in Everyday are traded for a simply beautiful arrangement of more simplified tones and movements. This CD in its entirity is not a let down, to me at least.
The first time I played it, I thought it was pretty good, but I was somewhat unaffected by it. The second time I played it, I couldn't have picked a favorite song if I tried.
The lesson being, Cinematic Orchestra has not failed to disappoint us at all. You just might find yourself looking for something that isn't there - and you don't slay an album just because of expectations...

If you are expecting the 'old' TCO, this release may not deliver on that front as the last reviewer stated. However if you are a fan of singer/songwriter, torchsong and soundscape/soundtrack genres, you'll find these beautiful melodies, amazing vocals and sometime sparse arrangments stunning and worthy of repeated infinite listenings.

I was out shopping for music and was looking for something new when I ran across this album. The cover of the album caught my eye. I'd never heard of The Cinematic Orchestra (...or I should say, that I can't ever recall hearing of them.)but I decided to take a chance on this album based on... well nothing really. (...but the cover I guess. Which is rather strange, because something with a cover that serene would not usually make me take a second glance.) I felt drawn to "Ma Fleur". I felt that there was perhaps something special about this album and I was correct.

This album is inspired, almost as if it was channeled! You get the sense that "Ma Fleur" was out there, somewhere in the vastness of time and space, waiting for someone to come along and discover it! As a concept album, it feels complete. Every song seems to seamlessly flow into the next like water through a tranquil stream.

At no point does "Ma Fleur" ever demand your attention... well at least not in the typical sense. It never tries to dazzle you with it's arrangement or production aesthetics. "Ma Fleur" feels like it was made for the pure satisfaction of the musical creation, and not necessarily for the entertainment of an audience. (...or album sales for that matter.)

That being said, I found the album hypnotic and the music seductive. The music lulled me into a place of vulnerability and openess, which made it difficult to passively listen. I wanted to approach it with a present state of mind and really absorb it all. I didn't want to miss a single moment.

"Ma Fleur" never feels forced. Every moment of the album feels like it has a purpose and the use of silence contributes to this. The silence of "Ma Fleur" is it's strength! If this album were Michelangelo's "Statue of David", the silence would certainly be the marble from which it is made.

Although I am happy to have discovered "TCO", I am grateful that this album was my first experience because I have been allowed the opportunity to listen without prejudice. I am appreciative that I was able to come to this album without presumptions or expectations. Among my favorite albums I have often wished that I could explore them for the first time all over again... with time I'm sure that this album will be in that same category.

As a fan of Cinematic Orchestra, having greatly enjoyed all their previous albums, this work may rightly be seen as their best effort. The lush musicality of their previous work is still here, but now the entire album invokes a certain state of mind. For me, it is about nostalgia and beauty; love and loss. Previous albums were focused on the quality of individual songs making up a cool set list. However, this album carries its theme so wondrously that you almost have to hear the whole thing to appreciate what they've created. Not that the individual songs have lost any of their quality though. So don't be afraid to pick this up if you want more Cinematic Orchestra, whether it's your introduction to them or otherwise.

I own and enjoy TCO's debut album. I saw this one at a thrift store and bought it with some trepidation and was pleasantly surprised. This album is much different from their earlier work, but at least as good. It eschews repetitive rhythm loops for a richer, more flowing and orchestral sound. I'm strongly reminded of Zero 7 or more mellow Air. It still has a great bass line, but it's not very jazzy; some people might find it too syrupy or poppy. But for me it's relaxing and creates a beautiful melancholy mood.

Ma Fleur is a concept album. And its tone is a decidedly blue one; thus, music not meant for clear sunny days.

Rather, one plays it when he finds himself surrounded by nothing but clouds, with nothing to do, but listen to these beautiful musical raindrops.

4 and 1/2 stars

After watching the trailer for "Another Earth", I did a little googlework to find out who performed the trailer music. I discovered that the song is "That Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra. The piece was genuinely moving, a perfect complement to the high drama, sci-fi narrative of "Another Earth", so I listened to the samples on Amazon and realized that this was an album I needed to own. I can't speak to the previous work of TCO, but Ma Fleur has earned my appreciation and respect.

_Ma Fleur_ represents a radical departure from the Cinematic Orchestra that we knew and loved. Whereas their earlier album were interested in grand, sweeping arrangements to fill all the available sonic space, _Ma Fleur_ has simplified arrangements that emphasize and clears out that sonic space. The "orchestra" aspect has been reduced to a guitar -- but the net effect is no less stunning. The simplicity lends itself to a much more personal and intimate album.

For example, the piano chords and strings that start off "That Home" maintain a quiet dignity throughout. "Familiar Ground," possibly the best track on the album, has some terrific emotional builds, augmented by the shoegazer-influenced electric guitar strums. The earnest vocals carry a wonderful sense of melancholy -- listen to how the chorus ends the track on an unresolved chord.

More than anything, the album as a whole sounds like a journey -- one track leads sonically into the next. Each track on his earlier album was its own discrete journey, but _Ma Fleur_ pulls them together beautifully. Thus, the reverberating guitar lick that lead out "As the Stars Fall" reprises at the start of "Into You." Louise Rhodes, who whispers seductively betwixt the layers of guitar plucking and whispering on "Music Box," quickly takes the lead in the episodic "Time and Space." Patrick Wilson ends the album on "To Build a Home," an extension of the opening track.

But for those who mourn the loss of the "old" Cinematic Orchestra, there are still several tracks that have the angular jazz of the original, like the freeform clarinets on the title track. Fontella Bass, who brought immense power on the _Every Day_ album, lends her bluesy lungs again on "Breathe." But instead of demanding another repeat of their earlier success, why not bask in the glory of their new work? A flower by another other name would smell as sweet.