PRESS
“ Having managed to find the perfect balance between groove and fun with an impressively realistic rhythm and literally explosive brass arrangements, Pillac offers a demonstration that is both masterful and full of humility of what we know how to do with better in terms of soul, funk and blues on our side of the Atlantic. With its elaborate arrangements and careful production, "Nervous Breakdown" is undoubtedly one of the albums that will mark the current year.
One hell of a group! “
ZICAZIC - Fred Delforge - March 2013
Electric Blues Duo has concocted an eponymous EP full of good things for us since we find five adaptations among which the first, "Goin' Back Home", is to the credit of the group from Niort John Doe who disappeared about fifteen years ago. years. All slides out, Xavier Pillac then takes Electric Blues Duo to better known things but reviewed in a very personal way with amazing rereadings by Yank Rachell, "Shout Baby Shout", by Chuck Berry, "Thirteen Question Method", by Taj Mahal, "Going Up To The Country", and finally by Tommy Johnson, "Big Road Blues", offering us a particularly subtle playing and arrangements that are no less so, far from it. Both spontaneous and precise, the effort brings us back to a rural blues and a rough hill country rock and puts above all on the rendering and taking care that each riff, each note even, is the best pretext for make us tap our feet, and even more so. A ghost track hidden at the end of the album to end up looking good and here is a slice of bread released in the spring which will have no great difficulty passing the seasons but also playing its role as a calling card for those who appreciate this genre. duet which gives a little more ease to the scene than the one man band format. Still just as brilliant, they gratify us with a high-class work that we won't be able to resist for long!
ZICAZIC - Fred Delforge - August 2017
“ Hedonistic turn, muscular carelessness, brilliant lightness, fun Funk, West Coast English in all the verses! Pillac le Grand returns with a nickel-plated fourth album, sharp, beautifully arranged.“
BLUES AGAIN - Christian Casoni - May 2013
We cannot say that Pillac tires his audience with his discographic frenzy. But he once again breaks the fast with a 5-track EP, nothing but covers, and a bonus track. Pillac has dabbled in all formats, from blues-rock band armored with a brass section to the one-man-band formula. Here, he would rather lean towards the latter, but as a duo. Pillac sings, scratches, slides and solos. The harmonicist Youssef Remadna intervenes sporadically. The style is moreover that of a one-man-band, with the freer elbows of the duo, hill country rock, americana drawing clearly on the blues and, on a title ('Big Road Blues'), the chopper to Wilko, recalling the episode from the funky soul album, released a couple of years ago. The inspiration is more rootsy: Yank Rachell, Tommy Johnson, Taj Mahal, Chuck Berry (a reference that falls, alas, too well), without forgetting 'Goin' Back Home' by Jeff Magidson and John Doe, other old knowledge. No matter how, Pillac could pay these times to his coat of arms as his interpretations are personal. Obviously, he does not claim to influence the destiny of the blues. He is content to quietly occupy the ground with a paw which now has a fairly long history, a lot of experience, and which has earned its fingerprints on the asphalt. And the good taste of never letting the temperament engulf the song, a scruple which is not always observed by those who are excellent guitarists, who sing well and who have chosen to shine in a rather virile genre.
BLUES AGAIN - Christian Casoni - April 2017
“carried by this candor of another age, Pillac releases a splendid album“
ROCK & FOLK - Christian Casoni - 2010
“ Pillac returns in a brass formation, for a soulful and funk blues, vocals in assertive English and impeccable orchestration.“
SOUL BAG – Christophe Mourot - 3 stars 1/2 - N°211 July-August-September 2013
XAVIER PILLAC's Electric Blues Duo is indeed very blues. Eclectic sources, John Doe, Chuck Berry, Taj Mahal, Tommy Johnson, Yank Rachell, musical talent, impeccable sound, harmonica by Youssef Remadna, It's a promising formula!
SOUL BAG - Christophe Mourot - 3 stars
“ The team is new for this album "Nervous Breakdown", it contributes with oh so much efficiency to the success of this bluesy-funky-soul galette. The album is punchy, efficient, chiseled, just right. Another frankly successful album, thank you for this piece of happiness! “
BLUES & CO – Queenlolo - 4 stars - June 2013
"One of the very best blues records of this first half of 2013, all categories combined."
ABS Magazine - Marcel Bénédit - September 2013
“The 10 tracks are absolutely fabulous and very well recorded. A delight… A very, very good quality disc, which I particularly recommend. “
BLUES MAGAZINE – Michel Enfert - 4 stars – N°70 oct-nov-dec 2013
Beyond this performance, what is striking when listening to their 6-track EP is the apparent ease with which ELECTRIC BLUES DUO manages to swing the covers they appropriate. The slightest surprise not coming from their acoustic ragtime-swing adaptation of Chuck Berry's “Thirteen Question Method”! That of Jeff Magidson's "Going Back Home" gives, on a frame of incantatory electric slide. Yank Rachell's “Shout Baby Shout” bounces from start to finish, with Youssef Remadna's drone in the background, and Xavier's greedy singing, whose American accent impresses. Taj Mahal's “Going Up To The Country” sees here its original Chicago-shuffle treatment perfectly respected, but Pillac affixes to it a solo of a very personal fluidity and articulation. A disheveled version of Tommy Johnson's “Big Road Blues” once again welcomes Youssef Remadna's lively harp, and we find ourselves envying the residents of the Poitevin marshes, who are lucky enough to have such neighbours. Especially since these lads return with an acoustic ghost track where Xavier's dobro and Youssef's harmo pay savory homage to Tommy Johnson's favorite vice, whisky. But six titles, that passes too quickly: boy, the same thing!
PARIS-MOVE & BLUES MAGAZINE -Patrick Dlongville - 4 stars
The funky and brassy treatment given to these tracks is particularly tasty throughout this album. Xavier Pillac's guitar drips with piquant, dancing notes and the character's solos are models of measured dexterity, suave strength and finesse. The rhythm section always prints the right tempo and we savor the undulating bass lines. As for the brass, they are the icing on the cake, the ruby that sparkles on the ring, the impeccable little touch that makes “Nervous breakdown” swing from start to finish. Pillac transports us to the hottest and most danceable places in the blues, the one that meets soul and funk in a harmonious and captivating marriage. A real cure for good humor that will allow you to face the dreary days of the coming autumn.
MUSIC IN BELGIUM - François Becquart - 2013
Electric Blues Duo from Poitiers, France. This self-titled debut EP was released in 2017 on the Baritone Music label. Inspired by street musicians seen in New Orleans, the duo adopted a sort of “two man band” approach. They've applied this same stripped-down approach to the recording of the EP, and for the most part, to great success. Recorded live in the studio, the songs have an easy, relaxed feel. The duo seems (admirably) to resist the temptation to compensate for their size with volume or intensity, choosing instead to embrace the space in the music, which gives it a comfortable vibe. Xavier's resonator guitar (dobro) work is solid, and his electric guitar is natural without being too showy. The disc leads off with Goin' Back Home, a slide guitar based tune that has a nice rolling feel. The band expands for a moment with the addition of Youssef Remadna's harmonica playing on Shout Baby Shout, a lazy little stroll. Notice the wonderful aforementioned space during the guitar solo. Thirteen Question Method bounces along, reminiscent of some of Ry Cooder's best interpretations. The duo takes Taj Mahal's Going Up To The Country way downtown with a gritty, big city blues rendition. Youssef plugs a mic in an amp and joins in on the rollicking romp Big Road Blues to finish out the cd. But does it? Let it roll to hear a hidden track, complete with faux vinyl scratches? All in all, a nice listen.
ALBUM REVIEW ELECTRIC BLUES DUO self-titled debut EP review
BLUES MATTERS - EP review by Patterson Barrett - SEPTEMBER 4, 2017
