La Part du Feu

The Quebec folk scene isn't a youngster any more, but it's still full of very vital energy, tempered with skill and a lot more sophistication, as the new disc by one of the region's top bands shows. There's plenty here to please longtime fans, in the instrumentals, with some wonderful playing, and the songs, many traditional, and some original. The quartet (plus guests) wheel freely through it all. By now they've developed into a superb, tight unit, but one which so obviously enjoys the music. They do what they do, and it very well, but they do stretch boundaries a bit on "Rossignolet," which is gloriously atmospheric, almost as if they'd been produced by Daniel Lanois, and, because it stands out so much, is possibly the best thing here. But, truthfully, the album is a series of highlights, with the songs possibly coming out ahead of the instrumentals, although "Mamzelle Kennedy" is an excellent piece of work. This is a band that's confident enough to add to the tradition, and become vital in moving it on.