El-g makes a strange mix of French ballads and avant-garde song-writing. A pig-headed approach of the French language and ingenious arrangments are the core business of this dude. Tout Ploie is a compilation of both the best tracks from previously released cdr's and new work. El-g appears as a sort of modern day miniature version of Serge Gainsbourg on this debut-lp. The female singer, Charlene Darling, who accompanies him throughout the most part of the record only makes this comparison more apt. Gerard has never been affraid to buy records of Lee Hazlewood and late Fleetwood Mac. He extracted the right ingredients from those records and added some genuine French sensuality.