Alexis HK's new album opens with a haunting mandolin intro, instantly conjuring up images of a Scorsese-style Mafia movie like Goodfellas (released on French cinema screens as Les Affranchis - hence Alexis HK's reverential title). The Mafia theme has become a hot favourite on the French music scene of late and Alexis HK's album makes a knowing nod to Repenti, a song recorded by his friend, Renan Luce (co-author of the already cult Thanks for the Add) and Akhenaton's Mafia rap classic Métèque et Mat. The similarities with the Marseilles rap star do not end there, either, because Alexis HK's phrasing on his new album owes a lot to Akhenaton's staccato flow and narrative verve.

Gone are the traditional accordions and retro java feel of Alexis HK's debut offering, Belle Ville. Les Affranchis finds Monsieur Djoshkounian opening himself up to new musical horizons and experimenting with jazz-style ambiences as well as folk and acoustic hip-hop. This third album - which Alexis HK produced himself in collaboration with Matthieu Ballet (renowned for his work with Bashung) - is finely honed and at the same time pared back in a pleasingly minimalist way. Alexis's gravelly bass vocals are brought more clearly to the fore and his syncopated delivery makes the French language swing like no-one else since the late great Nougaro.

While the author of C’que t’es belle has radically reinvented himself on a musical level, his lyrics continue to mine the rich vein of French chanson tradition. Alexis HK brings a comic touch to La Maison Ronchonchon (written in collaboration with the French singer Lise Cherhal) and excels at Brassens-style satire on Les Affranchis (a cautionary tale of cliques in the music world) while on the hilarious cock-fighting fable Chicken Manager he sends up two well-known political figures. The modern-day troubadour goes back to the Middle Ages on Maudits Anglois, singing in medieval French, and closes his album with the excellent Pardon, Vieux Camarade, playing out with a round of tired applause. Bravo Monsieur HK, this album is a real gem!