As part of his "New Weave Archive Series", American multi-instrumentalist Daniel Crommie has reached deep into the vaults to re-release a large number of albums from projects that he has been involved with over the years. Group Du Jour is a rather prolific group that features, in addition to Crommie on various woodwind instruments and synthesizers, Paul Parker on guitar and bass, and Bo Parker on a variety of percussion instruments. Hinterland is a collection of tracks that was originally released in 1989, but its recent re-release includes multiple bonus tracks, making now as good a time as ever to check it out.
Musically, Hinterland rests somewhere between ambient electronic, new age, and world music. Most of the tracks here consist of mellow percussive backdrops (which are, unfortunately, programmed), complemented by atmospheric use of synthesizers and guitars, as well as quite a bit of flute soloing from Daniel Crommie. The flute solos are undoubtedly the highlight of Hinterland because, if I'm being honest, most other elements of the album fail to elevate above mere background music - although it's not a bad album, the bland drum programming and meandering compositions keep it from ever sounding particularly engaging. As my introduction to Group Du Jour's music, Hinterland was not a very successful listen, but dedicated fans of the group may find more to enjoy here than I do.
Track Listing:
1. The Perfect Triangle
2. Autumn in Shanghai
3. The Mystery Machines
4. Radio Uganda
5. Running from the River
6. Carry a Big Stick
7. We Travel Dark Waters
8. Under a Spell
9. Motion of Waves
10. Atlas Fear
11. Third Hemisphere
12. Darker than Night