Ranging from chillout to jazz, blues to house, Frenchman Pierre Avia is often mentioned in the same sentence as "critically acclaimed", or perhaps "refreshingly eclectic". Why Should I Cry provides evidence to the contrary.
The track could be described laid back house morphed with old school jazz. A looped spanish guitar riff gives it a sun-kissed (or maybe sunset) aura, and the scratched-vinyl vocals, though somewhat reminiscent of White Town's Your Woman, succeed in adding an extra dimension to the track. Without them one feels Why Should I Cry would be threatening a stint as trendy-high-street-shop ambience music and little else.
The b-sides, however, are the usual remixes. Surely an artist as apparently eclectic as Avia should instead be bringing us desert and then coffee, rather than getting someone else to cook the main course in a different pan (if you follow my meaning). Look past this and you should see Why Should I Cry for what it really is - a rather splendid chillout jazz-house track and a shining advert for his full-length album I See That Now.
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