QUATRE – L’ALBUM SANS FIN – PART.2

As the name suggests, QUATRE – PART.2 is the second installment of BAGDAD RODEO’s “Endless Album.” Resolutedly rock and utterly ruthless, this opus brings together all the ingredients that define the band’s strength: snarling energy, politically incorrect writing, and that signature sarcastic humor etched into their DNA. Driven by surprising compositions and an implacable rhythm section, current events are tackled without a filter. This makes the album a major event for the adult who is thrilled to hear their private thoughts shouted out loud, as well as for the teenager trying to decode the brutality of the adult world.

The album opens with Message Essentiel, a track that sets the tone through radical subversion. This “fake” nursery rhyme denounces the social violence of the powerful by transforming “cuddles” into sonic slaps: apparent sweetness is brutally swept away by a collective rage against corruption. The band continues its offensive with Réac Man, a fierce satire caricaturing the reactionary male as a fake superhero of the status quo. Between casual misogyny and rancid patriotism, this irreverent portrait fuses the spirit of Alain Souchon with the power of Faith No More and The Cult. Unfiltered obscurantism also takes a hit in Climatocomplotiste, a pamphlet against climate denial and the algorithm-fueled ultra-individualism, where ordinary stupidity is exposed through biting irony.

The songwriting then becomes almost autobiographical with Rock N’ Roll Loser, a half-punk, half-hard-rock track that uses self-deprecation to dismantle the fantasy of the worshipped rockstar. In an atmosphere where Motörhead meets Raoul Petite, the band publicly declares failure only to make their freedom ring louder. This “comically pathetic” spirit continues in Quand Tu T’en Vas, a melancholy ballad exploring emotional dependency. A true Bagdad Rodéo version of “Ne me quitte pas,” this track—reminiscent of The Stranglers—unflinchingly exposes the narrator’s flaws and absurd jealousy. The band regains altitude with Punk Charmant, a generational manifesto that refuses a docile entry into the adult world. By pitting joyful anarchy against the obligations of routine, this track claims the right to stay young, reckless, and resolutely free.

The feast continues with the ferocious charge of Super Baltringue, targeting the loud-mouthed elites who lack any semblance of a backbone. This politically charged rock, designed to be belted out at the top of one’s lungs, proves that Bagdad Rodéo definitely “doesn’t drink sugar-free herbal tea.” The tone turns darker and more visceral on Liberté, Égalité, Sécurité, a track denouncing police repression and the cynical maintenance of order. With a spirit inherited from London Calling and a composition worthy of Roxy Music, protest becomes a cry of lucidity in the face of state violence. This societal analysis continues with Idiocratie Artificielle, an attack on digital dehumanization. This fluid and anxious track, guaranteed 100% AI-free, questions the future of humanity in our hyper-connected era.

Finally, to close this second chapter, the band delivers Symphonie Militaire, a solemn and stripped-back piece giving a voice to those sacrificed by war. Led by a sensitive introduction from co-founders Christobal Sanchez Del Rodéo and MGR Delatourette, later joined by their loyal bandmates, this grunge-tinged track evokes the absurdity of combat and the shattered destinies of soldiers under the flag. Recalling the depth of Boris Vian’s writings, this poignant conclusion leaves us pensive in the face of the world’s chaos.

If we end up weeping in silence after laughing at the absurd, hope remains: the journey of QUATRE is, by definition, an endless album.