Héra Ménard

Québec City’s Héra Ménard is another talented auteur-compositeur-interprète from la belle province. Winner of the 2013 edition of Le Festival le Tremplin de Dégelis (joining a long and distinguished list of winners that include a certain Klô Pelgag), she released her debut EP “Et si…”

The EP’s opening and title track is delightfully up-tempo and merrily bounces along. At first Héra’s confident and bubbly vocals intertwine with just ukulele and guitar, but before long piano, percussion and even the plucked strings of a mandolin are added to the mix. The vocals are multi-tracked into the most perfect of soaring refrain. In fact Héra’s crystalline vocals also feature prominently on the foot-tappingly upbeat “Le vide.” There’s a similar bouncing refrain and nice choral touches – but lest you get the impression that Héra only has one string to her bow – there’s a sudden softening of mood and change of pace as the song draws to a close. Indeed, live – en session – with just a slight change of emphasis and vocal inflection sees the song takes on a slightly melancholic tinge, as the video below demonstrates.

The country-tinged “Je pense encore à toi” and the melodic folk-pop of “Les dernières heures” are achingly beautiful songs. Both demonstrate the softness and soulfulness of Héra’s ethereal vocals, while the addition of violin, low whistle and accordion add a haunting Celtic air to “Les dernières heures.”

There’s even something in Héra’s disarmingly engaging voice that makes the English language closing number “Lullaby” such a heartwarming and captivating song. Again accompanied by just the ukulele, Hèra suggests seductively that since there is no where else for her lover to go, staying with her tonight is the only thing to do.

Québec seems to produce more than its fair share of country-folk artists, so standing out from the crowd can be a challenge. With “Et si…”, Héra Ménard suggests she has more than enough strings to her bow to make a mark.