Miriodor are one of a handful of French-Canadian groups who subscribe to the RIO (Rock-in-Opposition) school of progressive rock, whose originators include '70s innovators Henry Cow, Art Bears, Slapp Happy, and guitarist Fred Frith. Miriodor's opening salvo reveals an accomplished band steeped in instrumental whimsy.
The tracks have the flavor of classic '70s Canterbury groups such as Egg and Hatfield And The North, among others, but Miriodor's tricky time signatures, deft percussive abilities, and lyrical sense of play show they don't take themselves too seriously. But they do take their music seriously--some of the performances here are jaw-droppingly proficient. Guitars etch out wonderful moire patterns, percussion and horns spar with each other, and the band's imaginative use of synthesizers finds new vocabularies and uses for the future that resonate with today's post-rock. Miriodor are one of prog's few originals, giving the term "progressive" a fresh and invigorating new meaning.
