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Cousteau | Sirena

Anthem for the world in black and white.
CD, Palm Pictures/Zomba

Tekst: Norbert Pek

Publicatiedatum: 29 augustus 2002

It's good to read in the bio that Cousteau sold over 150,000 copies of their debut album Cousteau. When I discovered the album, it had already been released for over six months, and I was astonished that the band had received so little attention in the press. It was an album full of classics: Wish You Were Here, The Last Good Day Of The Year, She Don't Hear Your Prayer, etcetera. Cousteau sounds like a soul version of theTindersticks, mostly because of the dark and charismatic voice of Leam McKahey, and because they have the same capacity to create a world of their own. It starts with the CD booklet: stylish characters, all in black and white. Sirena follows the same path as the debut. Maybe it's a minor point, but those who enjoyed Cousteau before will certainly be pleased. The band decided to put the best songs in the beginning of the album: Nothing So Bad, with sneering organ, crying guitar, and backing vocals singing "Honeyyyy," followed by a trumpet on (Damn These) Hungry Times. I have to stop myself from describing every song too exactly, because I'm quite impressed at how Cousteau seem to fill in every moment so perfectly. Only it's a shame that the least "earcatching" songs are placed in the middle of Sirena, which lends an (undersirable) contrast to the overwhelming beginning of the album. Luckily, the best is yet to come with one of the better closings I've heard in a long time: Have You Seen Her. A violin strengthens the desperation in McKahey's voice, in this anthem for a world in black and white. Good to have them back.