There are a few tracks on Fránçois & The Atlas Mountains fifth album that saunter past the five minute mark, but even the shorter ones seem to stretch time, unfurling with the graceful fortitude of a sapling edging towards the sun. Slow and easy, these songs wind curious, alluring paths through styles, moods and sometimes even continents, possessing a subtle eclecticism that melds African and South Asian sounds with familiar but nonetheless rewarding indie folk and synth pop.
Such composure suggests the end of a journey for Fránçois Marry and company. The Atlas Mountains began as more of a personal songwriting project for the French-born frontman (who at one time toured as a member of Camera Obscura) but has gradually evolved into a fully-fledged collaborative entity.
2014’s Piano Ombre seemed to catch the band somewhere in the cocoon stage of that transformation, expanding their horizons and developing a richer sound but doing so in the image of influences like labelmates Animal Collective and very obviously Metronomy, as evidenced on breakthrough single La Vérité. On Solide Mirage however, they’ve emerged in full bloom on the other side, making for a confident and consistent record that should be a great entry point for newcomers. — theskinny