Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head

Jean-Louis Murat - Le parcours de la peine

Lloyd Cole - Loveless

Susanna Wallumrød - I En Mørk Natt

The Unthanks, Morning Teleportation, Charles Bradley, Wye Oak, The Low Anthem, Iron & Wine, Ruby Coast, The Twilight Singers, Kurt Vile, Earth, Braids, Tennis, Gold Panda, The Joy Formidable, Yuck, Frank Ocean, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Dodos, The Strokes, Jo Hamilton and Julianna Barwick ALBUM REVIEWS

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French music business shows a long tradition of pop duos. Serge Gainsbourg’s multiple duos, mainly with actresses Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin, are the first examples at hands, that of a male musical mastermind, often multi-instrumentist, and a sexy doll of a singer. Stone et Charden could be another example, more or less. That formula really exploded during the eighties, first with Elli et Jacno then later with the excellent Les Rita Mitsouko and the rather underestimated Niagara, among others. In the later years, male/male duos got the upper hand with world famous Daft Punk and Air, and to a lesser extend AaRON. The Dø looks like a band, the ‘The’ part in the name offers that illusion, but they are a duo of French multi-instrumentist and mastermind Dan Levy and Finnish cute looking singer Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti : D for Dan, ø for Olivia, it’s that simple. 

Do is also the alpha and the omega of the musical scale. There is nothing much more to tell about this except that it sounds good.

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Elbow as a band was already founded in 1991, under a different name; they changed it in 1997), but their debut and excellent album “Asleep in the Back” was only issued in 2001. Following that release, the band was immediately filed in the bandwagon already crowded with Radiohead, Coldplay, Doves and even Muse. Sure Elbow shares with these bands a similar knack for orchestrated but melancholic/heroic songs full of pathos, near prog-rock arrangement and larger-than-life vocals. As a matter of fact, from the first album on Elbow’s music is maybe the most ‘symphonic’ of the whole bunch while being also the least rockish in general, even if they can be pretty hard rocking when they feel like it. Elbow is relying more on keyboards and vocal harmonies as well. But contrary to Radiohead’s artistic pretentions, Coldplay’s obvious super stardom ambitions, Muse’s virtuosic dinosaur rock performances and even Doves’ melodramas, Elbow has near always kept a rather low profile attitude, very human and humble while being among the most productive on records.

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I wouldn’t have given much attention to this Swedish artist whose stage name reminds me too much of crap manufactured stuff like Jessie J and whoelse with such logo as a name if it wasn’t for the buzz around, pretty good reviews and articles about everywhere, from Pitchfork (1) to The Guardian (2). Besides, her music was described as a mix of soul, electro and powdered-sugar pop (3). Whatever, this sounds like tons of other shallow teen idols all over the music business. Concerning her stage name, it’s actually her real name Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson slightly transposed. Then maybe there’s some sincerity around. With this overproduction of records all around, I don’t think I’m the only one sorting out artists with such superficial ‘lookaround’. Good I was wrong once again. Lykke Li’s music is nothing like soul, electro and sugar pop, even if it contains all these elements. A contradictory statement which mirrors this paradoxical album on many accounts.

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Colin Stetson is a Montreal based, Michigan, US, born sax, clarinet, cornet, french horn and flute player who’s got some resume, to say the least. People allergic to namedropping, please jump four lines. He’s a member of Bell Orchestre and Sway Machinery as well as accompanying on stage and in the studio dozens of artists, including Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, Feist, Bon Iver, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, David Byrne, Jolie Holland, Sinead O’Connor, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Angelique Kidjo, and Anthony Braxton (1). Before that, he studied with reeds luminaries like Roscoe Mitchell (from Art Ensemble of Chicago, a.o.), Henry Threadgill and Steve Adams to name a few (2). The guy’s got credentials, it doesn’t seem to hard for him to get a job.

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