After the triumph of Living Being, Vincent Peirani presents an exhilarating Living Being II – Night Walker, the second album by his group of the same name, composed of Émile Parisien, saxophone, Tony Paeleman, keyboards, Julien Herné, electric bass and guitars, and Yoann Serra, drums. With a combination of rock (note the reference in the numbering to Led Zeppelin, whose Stairway to Heaven is included here), chanson, pop and Western written music, the group is what the accordionist calls a “Chamber Rock Music Orchestra”.

The writing, instrumentation and performance are excellent, and the quintet took particular care over the sound of the album (recorded in Brussels in March 2017 in just four days). Combining organic breath (accordion, saxophone) with outbursts of electric sound, the tracks present delicate, refined atmospheres or ambiences, grooves with contemporary oriental touches, and bold revivals (from the Baroque composer Henry Purcell to Led Zeppelin). The pieces are always powerfully evocative and together they form an expressive arch, with an extraordinary narrative content. In other words, this is another gem from the enfant terrible of the twenty-first century accordion.