Remember why you were attracted to music in the first place? Probably it was because it was fun and vibrant and moving, and somehow managed to express all the things about life and love that you could never quite put into words. Well that is exactly what Monsieur Camembert's music does.
The eclectic repertoire races across styles and geographical boundaries with never a care. But always you find your toes suddenly tapping, or the corners of your mouth being tugged upwards, or the strings of your heart being pulled - often all at once!
Take the treatment of Kiss Of Fire, which is partly riotously melodramatic, yet can also glint with moments of real rather than ironic passion. Like light changing on water, the band is expert at flitting between moods. You have to treasure a style of music to poke some gentle fun at it, and treasure it all the more to really play it to the hilt. Just listen to the tenor saxophone on Can I Have You Please for evidence, or the tenderness of Dance Me To The End Of Love.
Yaron, Edouard, Yuri, Svetlana and Mark have that fervour for their music, and the expertise to sustain it. They pick you up and carry you on a wave of energy, excitement and poignancy that never relents. The stunning Caminos Crusados is worth the price of admission all by itself and, as Yaron tells us in the very next song, A Good Time Was Had By All. I'm sure you'll agree.
John Shand
Music Writer – Sydney Morning Herald