Sloane Square is in a rather posh part of London, just off Grosvenor in the area made famous by Lady Di back in the day before she married our present king. It was a byword for poshness and yuppy attitudes in the heady days of the Thatcher revolution here in dear old Blighty.
Now, after that fascinating insight for those of you abroad reading this review who might not have heard of this part of our capital city and culture, let me say that Sloane Square Band appear to have absolutely no connection whatsoever with said square. The band’s origins go back fifty years now, to France and Sloane, the band formed by Claude Segalin, who composed a rock opera entitled Guelf, which was performed across France before, four years later, he brought the project to a close, and that should have been that.
The band was brought back to life in 2017 after a meeting between Segalin and a former bassist, and a live album was released. The project contributes heavily towards “Ligue Contre le Cancer”, a French charity institution against cancer. In September 2021, the band released Guelf, an obvious nod to the original work of the 1970’s, and the band now release Thoughts, the lineup being Claude Segalin on guitars and vocals; Richard Groulx on vocals; Joniece Jamison (who has sung with Eurythmics) also on vocals; Stéphane Honde plays guitars; Guy Pratt (he of Pink Floyd fame) on bass guitar, except for Alix Gugliemi on Fishes; Gérard Thouret on keyboards; Tony Valenzuela on drums; Leina Vinx plays flute and adds vocals; together with the Violins of the Orchestre National d'Avignon Provence (ONAP).
Before we start a discussion of the music, a quick word about how lush it all sounds, and that is owing to the mixing and mastering skills of Steve Forward, who has worked with McCartney and Ray Charles.
So, we have nine pieces of music with a running time of over forty-three minutes, described in the press release as a mix of French & Anglo-Saxon landscapes, neo-progressive (a phrase I dislike intensely) with Pink Floyd sensibilities. Let’s discuss it.
We start off with the title track, which, lyrically, has that thought all of us have at stages of our lives, being left alone on an island, watching the sky, and simply being alone to find and be ourselves. For those of you who enjoy the real-life orchestration as opposed to the sampled variety, this is a treat, the ONAP players providing us with a fine noise. The Floyd sensibilities are immediately apparent on the opening guitar bursts of Honde which is distinctly Gilmouresque. There are some lovely vocal harmonies, and this is a very nice piece of music which has some real emotional feel to it, soaring in places and a symphonic joy as we move to the close, the sea crashing against the beach, guitar and bass combining to set a tranquil scene.
Odd Love clearly has a story behind it. In the absence of knowledge of this, my take on it is a relatively routine life, with settling down at nineteen being turned upside down years later with a crazy, carefree, intense love affair turning the subject’s world upside down, but in an exhilarating way. Bright, breezy, with some crackling riffs, this is embedded below.
Born follows, wanting to move away from the city for a new start in the life-filled country. I live in a very rural area, and the trips to France I have had have been to similar areas, so this theme resonates with me. I dislike city life intensely. I love the start to this, the notes singing from speaker to speaker, the voices bringing with them a pastoral feel, the guitar when it is introduced adding to that. Just shy of three minutes in, we get a heavy burst of distinctly latter-day Floyd infused guitar work, alongside Thouret bringing us a sound which Wright would have been proud of.
Fishes has a simple message, one which is very relevant in Britain of 2024, the fact that our rivers and coast are being poisoned by the filth and effluent being pumped into it by the incompetent and greedy water companies, the fish being killed and rendered inedible, making us and other wildlife ill. A staggering situation, this song is a rightly angry polemic addressing this criminal state of affairs, featuring some wonderfully dystopian string arrangements above the hard-hitting riffs, and strong guitar solos which bring to mind some of Randy Rhoads’ work with Ozzy.
My Father is quite simply a loving tribute to the man responsible for bringing the writer into this earth and the obvious pain he went through with illness. A gentle loving tribute with delicate orchestral music, this is embedded below.
Hiroshima deals with the nuclear devastation which still has the capacity to shock almost eighty years later, especially when one considers that this and the sister bomb visited on Nagasaki were not necessary for America and the free world to win the war. Japan was an exhausted nation, and the end would have come anyway. This was an experiment which shames us. I really like the keyboard work on this especially, creating a ghostly presence alongside the dextrous acoustic guitar work. The flute from Vinx is simply beautiful. I think this is a special tribute to those who were killed and the appalling disabilities of those who survived and their children, the gospel voice resonating deeply alongside a feeling guitar solo.
I Will Never is a love song, and a track which fans of classic rock infused emotion will love. You know who you are, you Whitesnake, Bonnet Rainbow and the rest fans. I like it, because I was, and the guitar solos scream out the love.
Bag of Lies, in contrast, is a breakup song, although lyrically not far off what I described in the last track, this type of lies and vengeful regret being a rock ‘n roll staple over the years. It is suitably mournful, the vocals full of regret, with some very nice expressive music, especially the guitar solo, Honde very much a contender for my “find of the year” award at the close of the year. Take a listen to this embedded below.
We close with Jane, the writer’s daughter, and he was not there for her over long periods of time but cherishes the memories of when he was. We open with more riffs full of emotion, some wonderfully understated organ work, and the vocals telling their story with genuine warmth.
You can take a trip along to the Bandcamp page at https://ftf-music.bandcamp.com/album/sloane-square-band-thoughts and take a listen to this, and I recommend that you do. This is a very strong classic rock album, and the sound of an outfit who relish having a second chance to impress themselves upon an intelligent music audience.