On the self-produced five-song African Queen, this Belgian group — with Briton Sarah Osborne’s strong, sure alto voice out front — produces lush discoid funk of no great consequence. For some of the record, she raps swiftly, and the overall effect is like a European take on Blondie’s “Rapture.”
On Promises, aside from more contrast between Osbourne and low-pitched male vocal backing, Allez Allez and their producer (Martyn Ware of Heaven 17) are unable to create anything more than pleasant dance music with unfortunately pretentious lyrics. The group may think this is subtle and elegant art, but the hard truth is that it offers little music to remember and a few phrases best forgotten (e.g., the stuff about “My name is culture…her name is the devil”).