Rien de Faire – Here Comes The Freak Show (Album Review)

The UK-based pop trio’s fourth album is a groovy ride through the group’s sophisticated and genre-crossing sound.

Rien de Faire, a trio of musicians comprised of keyboardist Vic Martin, vocalist Mike Sebbage and guitarist Steve Summers, originally formed in the 1980s in the UK before disbanding only two years later. After pursuing various other solo and group endeavours, the three eventually decided to reform during the 2020 Covid 19 lockdown and release their first group album All Good Things in the same year.

Their newest release Here Comes The Freak Show is a dreamy treat for seasoned and new listeners alike; the group’s rich sound filled with genre-bending surprises and an overall chill vibe easily appealing to fans of a classic pop, jazz and blues sound. The album contains nine tracks of impressive quality and production value, likely as the result of the three musicians’ extensive experience working both in underground music scenes and alongside major international artists.

The album’s first track is the smooth introductory ‘Here Comes The Freak Show’, which bursts to life with a lively saxophone solo courtesy of guest musician Joe Difiore, whose addition in the album greatly contributes to its debonair sound. A groovy bass line leads listeners into the suave track, which is soon lent an extra edge through Mike Sebbage’s melodious vocal performance; his gravelly vocal tone winding itself through enticing melodies while echoing the track’s chorus lyrics (“You can run but you can’t hide, from supernatural suicide…Here comes the freak show”). It’s an intensely alluring start to an album full of charmingly stylish jazz and blues-infused pop jams.

The second and third tracks, ‘A Fool To A Clown’ and ‘Leave A Light On’ see Sebbage delving deep into exploring vulnerability through love and loneliness. The former track, which pleasantly serenades listeners with its languid tempo and Steve Summers’ delicate guitar licks, sensitively examines rejection and feeling shunned by a lover through Sebbage’s mesmerisingly melancholy vocals. Similarly, ‘Leave A Light On’ carries a profoundly introspective tone with the help of Vic Martin’s refined keyboard accompaniment, Sebbage’s wistfully sung lyrics pointing towards guilt at falling into bad habits (“Cause when the bogeyman calls, just leave a light on”) and a hypnotising outro characterised by an electric guitar solo beneath Sebbage’s mournful calls.

The soft notes of a harmonica greet the audience’s ears in ‘Tell Me I’m Not Crazy’, before the track’s mellow instrumental melts satisfyingly into the singer’s deeply emotive vocals. The vocalist surprises by transitioning into a breezy falsetto at the end of the track, which only appears to add weight to his desperate pleas of “Tell me I’m not crazy…Tell me I’m still strong” as the song’s somnolent soundscape lures listeners into an ambience that feels both tender and sombre.

The band seem to kick into the next gear with ‘Slow Ride’ and ‘Missing Out’ which are sure to delight listeners with their swaying mid-tempo beats and ear-worm vocal melodies. From the beginning of ‘Slow Ride’ Sebbage’s vocals seem even more crisp and stylish than usual, as he matches the carefree flow of the bass guitar and keyboard to great effect. In contrast, Difiore’s return on sax in ‘Missing Out’, which is the album’s only single, allow this lulling blues-pop number to stand out with Rien de Faire’s signature soothing genre fusion that will keep audiences in rapt fascination. Indeed, every element of the track down to its composition and production seems to enchant with the group’s polished performances and their thoughtfully meditative music style.

‘Spooky’ bursts with jazzy charm with its low-key keyboard-led intro and its memorably moody chorus (“Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you”), delivered in the singer’s gritty croons. Martin’s numerous keyboard solos further allow this track to take off with its light and airy tone; luring listeners in with the track’s laid-back and easy-listening style.

The final two tracks of the album ‘Fool When It Comes To Love’ and ‘What Would I Do (Without Me)?’ are the perfect songs to end this smoothly accomplished album; both tracks delivering infectiously rhythmic keyboard, drum and guitar accompaniments as well as Sebbage’s soulful croons. With the two songs lamenting over the complexities of personal relationships and the solitude that life sometimes brings, the tracks’ blues-inspired compositions make for pleasantly tranquil listening material for winding down after a hard day.

Score/Excellent: Here Comes The Freak Show is a wondrously accessible exploration of lush jazzy soundscapes and quiet introspective moments sure to appeal to fans of many different genres. It’s also clear from the easy flow of the album and the well-melded skills of Martin, Sebbage and Summers into each track, that Rien de faire overflows with both talent and artistic vision, which is something that any true lover of music will appreciate.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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