Retired to a chateau in the French Alps (the Grande Bergerie of the title),
Swayzak peered down from their high perch and presently gave the world a record that sounds much less dirty than Dirty Dancing, much less detailed than
Himawari, and much less sublime than their debut classic, Snowboarding in Argentina. Encompassing several vocal collaborations with Richard Davis of the band's 240 Volts label (as well as two vocals from
Swayzak's own David Brown), Loops From the Bergerie includes little of substance, only a few straight-ahead dance-vocal productions with a bare few hooks. Davis reveals a small talent for post-millennial songwriting, but unfortunately there is little for his voice -- influenced by
Robert Wyatt and
David Bowie -- to cling to on his first two features, "Another Way" and "My House." (The third, "Speak Easy," wears a threadbare coat apparently tailored by
Marilyn Manson.) The ineffable production sense that Brown and
James Taylor have brought to all of their
Swayzak releases is only occasionally visible, and only on an instrumental such as "Bergerie." Oddly, it's not the vocals themselves that are the problem;
Swayzak haven't gone pop in a mad bid for commercial stardom. The problem on Loops From the Bergerie is essentially the unneeded tempering of
Swayzak's production finesse to facilitate those vocals. ~ John Bush