Reviewed by Susanne Molina

The one time dc Talk man continues his eclectic musical travels with this latest release. Down the years the veteran has moved from edgy rock to gutsy acoustic to blues gospel revivalism and now, on this latest excursion, takes in electronica! While it's still clear that he'll always be a rocker at heart, most of 'Cotes D'Armour' offers avant garde explorations of various techno sounds mixed up with a hint of rock thanks to some satisfyingly savage guitar work from Adrian Belew, coming through here and there. Fans of the purer rock side of Max will still find true pleasure in songs like "On Yer Bike!", "Walking Through The Walls" and "Saint Of Lonely Hearts". The song "Future Love Song" (already known from the album 'Crashing Gates' where it is presented as a slower rock piece) is here redone as a weighty techno extravaganza, which works amazingly well and actually puts more severity into the message of the song. Other tracks are even further out explorations of electronica. Not for the faint hearted, this is still a bold and experimental work of art from an intelligent musician seemingly determined not to tread safe paths of radio friendly commercialism.

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