Tout Croche is a duo, consisting of Stephen Harvey and Dominic Thibault. With this conceptual album about space, they creates an atmospheric, mysterious and somewhat strange piece of music that defies any genre restriction and limitation. Some people will name this 'post-whatever', which comes pretty close to where this English duo is heading to. I personally would place this somewhere between the ambient, drone and the noise genres, next to some notorious guitar improvisers and circuit benders.
Because that's what we hear on 'The Whole Shabang', eerie pieces of instrumental improvisations ranging from harsh noise over doom and drone metal sounds to minimal ambient soundscapes. 'Razing it to the Ground' for example drives on what could be a groovy doom metal riff but lacks the drums to be classified as such. In stead a range of gritty soundscapes float in and out, creating a twisted piece of music, somewhere between Barn Owl, Sunn O))) and Merzbow.
The album continues in that alienating fashion with dark ambient pieces like 'The Valley Where Electric Daisies Bloom', bizarre soundscapes like 'Sulphurous Clouds' and pure noise in 'DMFDie!'. In fact, every single track on 'The Whole Shabang' is something completely different while still perfectly fitting in on this album. 'Alchemy of Flesh and Fire' is one of the strangest songs which also includes some seventies psychedelics.
The album closers with what could be folk song, played somewhere far away in a alien forest which perfectly illustrates the unearthly atmosphere of this album. These are pretty interesting improvisations that will surely take you to places unseen and to sounds unheard. Only recommended if you're in for some experimental weirdness and psychedelic trips through outer space...
Serge