Thousand & Bramier Go Typhoon!

The debut album from Thousand & Bramier has been sitting patiently under my desk, a tantalising few feet away from my CD player, for what seems like an eternity now. I know it's been a long time because Cyril at the duo's label, Arbouse Recordings, has politely nudged me about the record two or three times already. Overcome with the festive spirit, I thought I'd give it a spin today with a view to scribbling a couple of hundred words over the coming week. However, as often happens when you approach an album with modest expectations, Go Typhoon! has truly knocked me off my seat. So, this being the season of good will and giving, I thought I'd share my discovery with you today. Happy holidays and all that.

Thousand & Bramier is essentially the work of Paris-based musicians Guilhem Granier and Stéphane Milochevitch; Granier used to be in a band called Madrid; Milochevitch has released solo material as Thousand. There is little additional information available on the Internet for the non-Francophone critic, but this isn't a major problem; the geographical location and background of these two musicians seem to have had little influence on the sound of Go Typhoon!

In the last five years there have been a clutch of non-American artists serving up moody 'Americana' music; Sweden's Amandine springs to mind, as do British group Broken Family Band. There are plenty more, too, but my memory, dulled by the lingering effects of red wine and a lack of sleep, just isn't up to it today. To my knowledge, neither Granier nor Milochevitch is American, but together they evoke the sound of whiskey-fuelled bar band from the Southern United States. If the concept of two Parisians emulating the sound of a distant land and culture sounds problematic, one listen to Great Wall of Fire will probably allay your fears. Far from a pastiche, this is the sound of two guys belting out a song with gusto and sincerity. The instrumentation and vocals might be closer to Will Oldham than, say, Serge Gainsbourg, but who cares? It works.

The Life Within begins with sparse finger-picked guitar, before gradually introducing banjo, atmospheric keys and slide guitar. Golden Ground is a gentler pop song, with subtle lap steel flourishes, and smooth, soothing vocals. Meanwhile, Duel in the Sun is a dreamy, cinematic slab of country goodness, the perfect soundtrack for a dusty gunfight in a desolate one horse town.

The kinetic crescendo of this song's final third rounds off Go Typhoon! in terrific fashion, leaving this reviewer with an overwhelming urge to break out the whiskey and listen to the entire album again. Investigate!

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