Poil 上田 – Poil 上田 (Dur et Doux)

Poil is among one of my all-time favourite bands—just check this review or this one if you need convincing. With this new album, which is set for release in March 2023, the French avant-prog trio teams up with Ni’s bassist—they’ve already collaborated on Piniol—and, for the first time, Japanese 薩摩琵琶 (satsuma-biwa) player and singer 上田純子 (Junko Ueda). The result of this collaboration is an incredible, although rather short (32 minutes is really not that bad), blend of French avant-prog and traditional Japanese music, poems, and spectacle. It’s a truly astounding record… Read more