17. Belgium – “L’heure du loup” by Wim Mertens

Wim Mertens is one of those names I had always heard of but never listened to. In fact, I didn’t even know he was from Belgium.

A quick search led me to many albums – sometimes it seems he’s released three in a year – and I really didn’t know where to start. I picked this one, ‘L’heure du loup’, at random.

I decided not to look for any additional information about him or this album in particular.

I can’t really say I’ve enjoyed it that much. It is odd, but in my head this kept reminding me of a video game soundtrack. It’s all part of a big whole – there’s barely any key or rhythm changes – but it feels repetitive. Even the instrumentation – a lot of percussion, strings, piano, wind, electronics – do not help. It’s not a repetition à la Philip Glass or Michael Nyman – this kept me wondering when each track was going to end.

Maybe it has improved after a few listens, maybe I’ve picked up nuances here and there that I hadn’t noticed before. And I feel it would benefit a lot from a live performance. But, for now, I’ll stick to Glass and Nyman.