The long-awaited 9th studio album, titled “5ieme Vitesse,” offers a diverse range of music that caters to different tastes. The album includes socially conscious tracks, love ballads, and of course, the “voye monte” that some fans enjoy.
Zenglen has spent much of its career adapting to different lead singers, and one might think it would be challenging for Kenny Desmangles to establish a unique style without imitating his predecessors. However, he has successfully achieved a unique sound, though not necessarily his best. Compared to his time with New York All Stars and even 509, Kenny seems to play it too safe on this album. At times, he sounds restrained, almost as if he wasn’t fully free to express himself, resulting in some moments feeling coached and redundant.
While the only songs that stood out to me on this album were “Mwen Pap Tounen (K’anyway),” “Fok Sa Chanje,” and “Fos Desten,” the album as a whole didn’t deliver a “wow” factor. That said, Kenny’s best efforts were evident in “Peye Bill,” “5ieme Vitesse,” and “Jere Sexy’w.” The duet “Mizikanou,” sung by Richie and Roserbie Theoc, is musically appealing, though Nicolina’s vocal delivery didn’t impress me as much as I had hoped. I’ve heard Richie sound better in the past, but I found myself replaying the track just to hear Nicolina’s saxophone performance.
If I were to predict which songs have the most hit potential on this album, I would choose “Jere Sexy’w,” “Mwen Pap Tounen,” and “Fos Desten.” This isn’t Zenglen’s best album to date; in my opinion, their most successful and my personal favorites are “An nou Alez” and “Easy Konpa.” However, this album shouldn’t be overlooked. Zenglen still has a lot of “vites” in them, even if they didn’t go full speed on this one. If they want this album to last beyond a year, they should consider tightening the live versions of the songs, particularly “Jere Sexy’w.”
