It’s always amazed me just how many odd bands there are, lurking beneath the surface of the musical mainstream, waiting for the careless to stick a hand idly in before attacking... Calle Debauche are one such band, starting out as a three-piece before adding tuba, tenor saxophone and marimba to create a very odd fusion indeed. Pinning Calle Debauche, the five-piece’s debut full-length, down to one genre is simply impossible. One moment you’re following the band through post-Zappa-esque Jazz Rock noodling, then the band are playing pure circus music... the confluence of genres is so professional that it’s easiest to place Calle Debauche in a genre all of their own, anchored to the ground by the guitar playing of Mohadev yet pining for outer space from the other instruments.

The construction of songs seems deliberately vague, so that the likes of Defenestrator and following track VRF could be one long piece, but there are differences, coming to light after several listens. King Crimson reinvented as a marching folk band could not invent something half as strange, yet it’s the Prog Rock heart of the band rather than the more obvious cheerful oddness that keeps you listening. That’s not to undermine the Jazz or Ska elements of the band’s sound at all. Angle Of Ill Repute proves that Guillem Sarle can play his sax well, whilst the ominous parp of the tuba on Regarding Pete is a vital part of the band’s sound and mixes well with the other instruments. Really, Calle Debauche are excellent at whatever they turn their hand to, whether it’s the brief but impressive mariachi-style atmospherics on Panspermia to the expressively melancholic folk of Eerie Woman. Synergism will keep the Avant-Garde fans amused, whilst the odd sample on Relentless Debauchery mixes things up fantastically.

Listening to Calle Debauche can become slightly dull if you’re new to this style of music, and the promised Metal elements are scant, but there is a certain something to them that keeps you listening. This certainly won’t appeal to everyone, but there’s enough here to keep some of the more leftfield of MetalReviews.com’s readership interested, and the band’s skills as musicians are beyond doubt. Worth a listen for anyone with an open-minded approach to what they listen to, certainly.