Over the past few years the French music scene has been submerged by a wave of talented young French singer/songwriters. First Mathieu Boogaerts, M and Dominique A with his minimalist pop, then Alexandre Varlet, Gérald Toto and Franck Monnet scurrying hot on their heels. As this whirlwind of young prodigies took the French music scene by storm, Miossec stood steady in the eye of the hurricane, quietly building his albums up one after another, as if he were patiently laying the foundations of a dolmen (or a long-term career).

Steadfastly marginal and commitedly underground, Miossec has nevertheless enjoyed huge critical success, the music press showering his albums with rave reviews and the French public going wild for his 'alternative' lyrics. Miossec has also been fêted by the crème de la crème of the Paris music scene. Most recently, the legendary Jane Birkin invited the marginal young Breton to contribute a song to her new album, "A la légère". But now Miossec is back in the spotlight with his own album, a haunting mix of violin samples, strings and guitar (courtesy of his ever-faithful guitarist Guillaume Rouau) which veer between gentle acoustics and squealing electric effects. But, as on Miossec's two previous albums "Boire" and "Baiser", the outstanding feature of "A prendre" is undoubtedly Miossec's powerful songwriting.

Wet Dogs and Doomed Love Affairs

"A prendre" opens with a hard-hitting track entitled "Chien Mouillé" (Wet Dog), a lesson in harsh self-examination, on which Miossec bares his soul, confessing his daily acts of cowardice, his pettiest thoughts, his dreams of meanness … in short, Miossec takes his scalpel and ruthlessly exposes the nastier side of human nature which, most of us - let's admit it - would prefer to keep covered up. Miossec's lyrics draw listeners in, forcing them to share every single nuance of his experience, as on the song "le Déménagement" (The Move), where he details the breakdown of another failed relationship. This painful tale of breaking up and sharing out the once-joint belongings, leads into two equally haunting sequels - "Retour à l'Hôtel" and "L'Auberge du Cul Tourné". This trilogy of songs runs the gamut of human experience, Miossec's feelings tumbling out in a torrent of confused emotions.

A Slice of Modern office Life

"A prendre" also features lyrics of the most caustic sarcasm, as on the wonderfully ironic song "l'Assistant Parlementaire". This tale of a non-descript underdog, wearily submitting to the daily humiliations of his bullying boss, and dreaming of the day when he will step into his master's shoes and inflict suffering on his own underlings in turn, paints a brilliant slice of modern office life. Wielding his lyrics as scalpels, 'Doctor' Miossec may sometimes force his fans to drink bitter medicine, but they nevertheless return to his albums time and time again, like the bar you stumble into in the early hours of the morning, seeking comfort and solace at the bottom of the glass.