A loose translation of "au reve" is "in dreams," and perhaps the phrase was an excellent choice of titles for the newest release from Cassius. After all, only in the band's dreams will this album hold its own among contemporaries Dimitri from Paris, Air or Daft Punk.
In a word, "Au Reve" is tedious. There's nothing here that hasn't been done before, and furthermore, there's not much here that hasn't been done better. There's nothing wrong with holding past work in the genre on a pedestal, but to copy it directly -- five to 10 years later -- is another matter.
"Room Tone," the lead into "Thrilla," reeks of "Diversions"-era Orbital. In itself, a comparison to Orbital isn't a bad thing, but any attempts at irony quickly fade into annoyance as the synth becomes progressively more prominent and dated. Similarly, the peculiar "Telephone Love" recalls Kraftwerk's past antics, while the loops and zip of "Hi Water" have Daft Punk written all over them.
Cassius doesn't stop there at dating itself.
la recent efforts from Moby and Fatboy, the album capitalizes on featuring multiple guest vocalists and genre incorporations. "The Sound of Violence," featuring Steve Edwards, is an effective but tiresome fusion of rock and disco, and "Thrilla" showcases Wu Tang's Ghostface Killah in a hip hop meets Eurotrash jaunt that shows why the two generally should not mix.
Fortunately for the duo, consisting of Phillipe 'Zdar' Cerboneschi and Hubert 'Boombass' Blanc-Francard, their inherent talent occasionally shines through failed experiments. Their work in the past, especially "1999" of that year, was distinctive of the rest of the French house scene because of its heavy use of funk and its nuanced use of soul, disco and abstraction.
Nuance, it seems, has gone out the window. The album is on genre overload, yet the use of true funk declines sharply. While much of "Au Reve" incorporates some form of funk, "Till We Got You and Me" is the track dominated by that particular genre's sound -- not coincidentally, the track, which features classic soul from Leroy Burgess, is one of the album's strongest.
Similarly brilliant is the title track, an epic of nearly eight minutes that serves essentially to summarize the album with an array of tempos and incorporations. The preceding track, aptly titled "On," is an intense romp through synth and syncopation, and although not entirely original, still comes off as fresh and energized.
There are worse things, of course, than being put into a group with some of the best European electronic groups of the decade, but "Au Reve" juxtaposed with the "Homework" and "Diversions" of the genre falls flat. For the mindless raver or club-goer, "Au Reve" could provide over an hour's worth of unadulterated and utterly danceable house bliss. For the more discerning listener, however, "Au Reve" is best left fast asleep in its jewel case.
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