Chilean psych-rock band The Holydrug Couple recorded a organ-heavy version of Je t’aime… moi non plus for a Record Store Day compilation. More on that here.
Autour de Lucie
Hell just froze over: Autour de Lucie is back. The seminal French rock band, the only mid-90s band from the Hexagone that was on par with the big alt rock names from the UK and USA, reformed (they called it quits about 10 years ago). Singer Valerie Leulliot announced a new album, there’s a new single especially for Record Store Day. Rejoice!
Autour de Lucie – Ta lumière particulière
Axelle Red
Yet another guest post by Steve, on red hot Axelle:
Firstly, a small confession. I’ve never been a huge fan of Axelle Red. Sure, I’d retrospectively discovered “À Tâtons“, a superb fusion of Memphis Soul, Nashville Country and French “Je ne sais quoi” (or should that be Flemish “Ik weet niet wat”? – sorry Guuz) (Actually, that should read: ‘dat onbekende iets’- G’bourg), but for some unknown reason we’d kind of failed to connect; She had “The Voice”, but similar to my review of Alizée, I’d often found the material a little disappointing. I guess this is more my fault than hers, but there were always other artists and discoveries which prevented me giving her a second chance.
And then I came across this and just the other week I discovered that the album Rouge Ardent had actually gotten a Stateside release…
This may be Axelle’s ninth studio album, but to these ears it’s easily her best. Here was an album that again married the voice with the material it deserved. Rouge Ardent is a collection of 10 expertly crafted songs in which she’s drawn from all of her 20 year career to pull together an incredibly soulful album.
The album opens with “Amour profond”, a great upbeat number with a wall of horns and percussion that in part, dare I say, reminds me of Dusty Springsfield’s “Breakfast in Bed” from her classic “Memphis” album. All wrapped and delivered with Axelle’s distinctive vocals…
And while we’re on the subject, has Axelle’s voice ever sounded this good? There’s a certain humility to the album, especially on “Quelque part allieurs”, a beautiful plaintive long-song built around crystal vocals and a simple piano. Meanwhile the title track literally boils with intensity and is worth the admission price alone.
However, it’s a little unfair to pick out a mere handful of tracks (oh alright then, I love the haunting “Sur La Route Sablée”). Talents as diverse as Stephan Eicher, Albert Hammond and the cream of Memphis including Lester Snell and Steve Potts, all contribute to make this a tight, expertly crafted masterpiece of a record.
I mentioned at the start of this review that this was a soulful album. It’s actually a Soul album. Seventeen years after the seminal “À Tâtons”, Axelle returns with a beautiful hommage to Memphis and the home of Stax.
Axelle Red – Sur La Route Sablée
Axelle Red – Amour profond
Ah! Melody!
Download for free a cover version of Gainsbourg’s Ah! Melody! by Emilie Simon and producer/Beirut-trumpeteer Kelly Pratt aka Bright Moments HERE
Coeur de Pirate, Roch Voisine
(Thx Mark)
New La Femme video
La Femme’s album, Psycho Tropical Berlin, is out. It features mostly French sequenced fuzzsurfsighpopsongs, like this one:
Fusée Dorée
Amsterdam-based, but very French neo-new wave artiste Emmanuelle Ornon aka Fusée Doreée has a new EP out, on Bandcamp. This, I think, is the best track
Alizée
Guestpost time again! Steve on the new Alizée album:
It’s probably safe to say that the release of Alizée’s 2010 “comeback” album, “Une Enfant du Siècle” – billed as a brave new style and change of direction – a concept album based around the life of American actress Edie Sedgwick – failed to resonate with the public at large, who obviously weren’t quite ready for the change of direction envisaged by the former teenage star. It wasn’t helped that the album was ultimately a mess of musical contradictions, and didn’t exactly set the (Francophone) world on fire.
So fast forward thee years and the release of Alizée’s fifth studio album, imaginatively titled “5” (her 5th album – geddit?) and it’s safe to say that the girl from Ajaccio is back with a vengeance. “5” is everything (and more) we were lead to believe that “Une Enfant du Siècle” was meant to be. With this album, without a doubt her best to date, Alizée hits upon the mature sound and style that she was striving for last time around.
The album’s opener “À cause de l’automne”, is as good a pop song as there is likely to be released this year, complete with an incredible 60’s intro, sweeping strings and a catchy chorus that embeds itself in your head. There’s a great mix of styles on this album, slower number such as “La guerre en dentelles”, “Mon chevalier” counterpoise nicely with “Je veux Bien” and “Le dernier soufle” both of which are great up-tempo songs.
Like most great albums, this feels very personal, indeed almost semi-autobiographical, and the lyrics would certainly appear to mirror upheavals in Alizée’s life, none more so than in the heartfelt “10 ans”. However, in an upbeat note, the album’s closer “Dans mon sac” wistfully hints at a new dawn, as if the recording of this album was part of a cathartic process.
This is a damn fine pop record. The production qualities are top notch, there’s great use of orchestral strings and horns which complement, never over-powering the vocals. Alizée has always had a great voice, but all too often never the material.
Alizée – Le dernier soufle
New Fanny Bloom EP
Recorded with a trio, live in the studio. It’s ‘name your price’ on Bandcamp: