Lucifer Is a Flower
is the final release by
Black Devil Disco Club
, a project helmed by French musician
Bernard Fevre
that began with a singular 1978 electro-disco oddity and was revived several decades later, when the world was finally ready for it. Starting with 2006's
28 After
,
Fevre
released new
Black Devil
albums that subtly tweaked the original release's sound, itself essentially six variations on the same track -- a little dubby echo here, a slightly faster tempo there, but mostly metronomic drum loops, cosmic synths, and cryptic, fluttering vocals. He deviated from the formula with 2009's
The Strange New World of Bernard Fevre
(a beat-heavy revision of one of his pre-
library albums) and 2011's
Circus
, a surprise venture into pop featuring high-profile guests like
Nancy Sinatra
and
Afrika Bambaataa
. Well into his seventies,
bows out of the music industry with one of his most playful efforts, yet there's still more than a touch of the spookiness that made the original
Disco Club
so compelling. Opener "Sweet Sins" is a simmering mid-tempo lament featuring
's haunted croon during the verses, then one of his signature "doot-doot-dee-doot" choruses, and a bit of bugged-out analog synth noise. While not quite as discotheque-ready as the early
material, this track is as close as
Lucifer
gets to its ominous hall-of-mirrors vibe. From there, parts of
are almost aggressively goofy. "Berliner Atoll" is loaded with preset percussion and fake whistles, with a bizarrely pseudo-country feel to its wavy, twangy synths, as well as passing moments that bring to mind
Donna Summer
's "I Feel Love" and
Snap!
's "The Power." Further silliness abounds on "Caresse un Opossum," with absurd lyrics to match its clunky robo-disco rhythm, and the breezy business boogie of "Bossa Snooze," which could almost work as background music piped into the lobby of a tropical island resort. A few tracks offer a glimpse into the lonely life of an elderly synth boffin. Beneath its bubbly tones and soft bongo beat, "Synth Is Not Love" expresses
's isolation at the expense of his devotion to music. "Ah Am Alone" is more upbeat, with fizzy, summery synths and a dash of vibraslap, but there's still a sad undercurrent to
's modulated vocals. "Devil Charmed" is a percolating tale of bittersweet seduction that manages to sneak in an accordion solo. As strange as the album's combination of whimsy and wistfulness might seem, it makes for one of
's most varied, oddly introspective works, ending his career on a good note. ~ Paul Simpson