Ce Monde Ici-Bas

They have been described as a ‘Québécois power trio,’ and the group’s power, apparent in their former stint with La Bottine Souriante, is audible once again in De Temps Antan’s lively delivery of traditional French-Canadian and original material. It’s partly in the les pieds percussion, a term applied to seated clog dancing unique to this part of the world. And it’s partly in the lusty male vocals, delivered by all three in French, with the regional practice of a lead singer’s lines being repeated in unison by his fellows.

André Brunet on fiddle and Pierre-Luc Dupuis on accordion provide the instrumental lead parts, with a little help from guests, and there’s a bit of a Celtic tinge to the dance rhythms and the ornamentations in evidence on the four-part dance set, ‘Medley des Couches’. Eric Beaudry plays both bouzouki and guitar, and on ‘Refaire le Monde’, he seems to be deploying a bottleneck slide. There’s a minimum of gratuitous flat-seventh chords and other embellishments; the approach is reassuringly respectful.