Tants Caps, Tants Joguets

‘Everybody fancies a nice pork pie,’ claims the chorus of ‘Tiny Kitchen’, sung by a duo of guest vocalists known as Oh! Cake & the Cookie. Vegetarians might disagree, but they’ll still find themselves nodding along to the bluesy toy piano and rasping cello. It’s just one of many charmingly eccentric songs on an album that is jam-packed with inventive ideas and unusual melodies.

Pinning down Orchestra Fireluche is tricky. They appear to be a international collective of musicians centred upon Basque producer Xavi Lloses. The plethora of different singers keeps things buoyant and unpredictable, and the album skitters from the zany to the beautiful, with the gorgeous French-language ballad ‘La Toupie’, featuring Maria Rodés on vocals, being a high point. Novelty instruments and electronic toys jostle against wheezing accordions, homely flutes and Spanish guitars.

‘Un Glop de Mar’ or ‘El Tren’ will satisfy any Manu Chao fans nostalgic for the swaying grooves and playful sound effects of Clandestino. ‘Pirates d’Habitació’ moves from a pastoral verse to a martial chorus possessed by the psychedelic spirits of Os Mutantes. But, while you can spot an influence or two, there’s nothing here that sounds remotely derivative: Orchestra Fireluche do things entirely their own way. Staying just the right side of cute, this is a sophisticated, distinctly Mediterranean kind of indie folk.