Jeannot Bournival has been one of the shadow artisans of the Quebec music industry for 20 years. The multi-instrumentalist, director and composer has held almost every possible position there, but he is best known for his long-standing collaboration with Fred Pellerin: it is in his studio Le Pantouf, in Saint-Élie-de- Caxton, that he produced all the albums of his storyteller friend.
For two years, the faithful companion seems to need to finally speak up. After a first album of songs, With view on the seareleased in March 2023, he is already back with Spring jam comet soft mustache. A curious title to say the least, but one that suits this unclassifiable and original album perfectly.
The album opens with Blank cassette, a short, punchy text that he recites in a loop against an extremely percussive background, and which sets the tone for what follows: the journey will be busy and poetic. Jeannot Bournival draws as much on trad as in jazz or contemporary music, going from storytelling to slam through black humor, and it is by mixing all these ingredients that he has created eleven quite unique pieces, a little strange, which you have to take the time to tame.
On several songs, the judicious use of brass adds another dimension – his slow version of Paradise City by Jean Leloup is frankly astonishing! But in fact, each time we have the impression that we have grasped his universe, the singer-songwriter comes to surprise us with a new element: saturated guitar here, a piano waltz to lighten it up a little. there, then a folkloric slam – yes yes, it’s possible, he did it with Shirley – or psychedelic folk – magnificent The winter trip.
Whether he sings or recites, Jeannot Bournival always has this slightly scratchy deep voice, which places him somewhere between Plume and Fred Fortin. The singer can be emotional when he talks about the end of a love (Dust of us) or dissipated when he tells the story of an undertaker who drinks shots strong (The cheerful embalmer), but this particular voice adds a layer to the dark and offbeat atmosphere of this very well-written, very crafted record, even if we could criticize him for overusing puns.
Spring jam comet soft mustache is clearly the album of an artist who thought for a long time about his profession and the way he wanted to practice it. And who made exactly the album he wanted to make, without compromise. It’s still rare.
Extract of The winter trip
Song
Spring jam comet soft mustache
Jeannot Bournival
Table corner