Album Review

La Folie – Risus Sardonicus

• 16th Feb 2010

Imagine an after hours party of four ringmasters let loose in a carnival. Havoc, mayhem and chaos ensue but along with that comes immense creativity, complete madness and tons of fun. This is the best way to describe the debut album from Sheffield rockers ‘La Folie’.

With their distinct brand of carnival funk, Nick, Mannie, Jacko and Dan present ‘Risus Sardonicus’, which is released on April 5th, through Tufty Records.

The band’s music is playful with soaring riffs and macabre undertones. Their unique and charming circus-like sounds are funky rock at its best.

The album opens with ‘Interlopers’, a musical rollercoaster which sounds like being dragged through an amusement ride full of excitement, intrigue, scepticism and a bit of fear.

The next ear-catching song is ‘Svengali’ with its catchy bassline, followed by the creepy and menacing ‘Arachnaphobia’. ‘Tramadol’ rounds out the best songs with a memorable hook and infectious beat. The final song, ‘Madame Palm’ is a nine minute long encore, as expected in any circus and is a perfect finish to the record.

Lead singer Nick Robyn is credited with writing all of the songs on the debut, with the band co-producing as well. La Folie have been compared to The Doors and The Pixies, while for the Irish readers I would compare them to a mix between Bell X1 and The Blizzards. A quirky My Chemical Romance circa ‘The Black Parade’ and you’re right on the money.

Their unique brand of music can take a few songs in to get used to but once given a chance can entice, engage and almost infect the listener. One criticism however is that their sound could be a little more polished and defined, as some songs can run into each other without being distinct enough on their own.

All in all La Folie cannot be faulted by bringing their niche to the table along with a welcome return from the nearly forgotten muscial diamond, the glockenspiel.