The late '90s saw the development of a sudden and intense (if ironic) fascination with all things '60s, especially lounge music and campy secret agent movie soundtracks. The French band
Mr. Neveux was apparently acting (at least in part) on such a fascination when it released this album on the Cup of Tea label in 1998. But the music isn't an exercise in period revivalism;
Mr. Neveux takes elements of that 1960s film music sound (cheesy analog synths, unison horn lines, messily distorted guitars), samples or approximates them electronically, and kneads them all together with modern acid jazz textures and downtempo atmospheres. Because the general model for this project seems to be film music, the individual tracks do tend to fade a bit into the background unless you make a concerted attempt to pay attention, but standouts include the Latin-tinged lead track "Good News" and the ponderously funky "To Miss C." "Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train" was actually composed for a French film of the same name. Recommended.