Les sœurs Boulay
Ever since I heard the debut EP and oh-so note-perfect harmonies of Gaspésie's Mélanie and Stéphanie Boulay I've been championing them to whoever would listen. There was 2013's album of the year "Le poids des confettis" (an album so good that I decided to start this blog just to be able to write about it), not to mention last year's effortless "Ça"...
When the sisters teased their new album, "4488 de l'Amour" with the release of ""Fais-moi un show de boucane", the track hinted that the sisters had created something very special indeed...
Actually the album opens with a song that is of a similar style to those of their award-winning debut. "Les couteaux beurre" features the sister's silky - delicate - gossamer vocals. Even the haunting whistling that accompanies the melancholic guitar is as harmonious and pitch perfect as their voices. But as the Sisters launch into the song's sweet chorus with its catchy melody you get the first inkling of the aural richness and warmth of this album's sound. But whereas their debut was effectively an acoustic outing - literally just Mélanie and Stéphanie alongside simple guitar and banjo, here the sound is far more expansive - electric guitars, drums, percussion, bass synths, trombone - even a Kalimba and butter knife(!); all add texture and depth to a song that revisits familiar grounds - their childhood home and memories that can be wrapped around them like a well-worn but comforting shawl.
In the context of the album "Fais-moi un show de boucane" is arguably a bit of a departure. It's definitely up-beat and uptempo - as close to a cross-over daytime radio song as the sisters have written. It's bold, brash and more than a little sexy. But it's also a song that addresses some familiar themes; about being a teenager, carefree and more than a little in love.
When the sisters teased their new album, "4488 de l'Amour" with the release of ""Fais-moi un show de boucane", the track hinted that the sisters had created something very special indeed...
Actually the album opens with a song that is of a similar style to those of their award-winning debut. "Les couteaux beurre" features the sister's silky - delicate - gossamer vocals. Even the haunting whistling that accompanies the melancholic guitar is as harmonious and pitch perfect as their voices. But as the Sisters launch into the song's sweet chorus with its catchy melody you get the first inkling of the aural richness and warmth of this album's sound. But whereas their debut was effectively an acoustic outing - literally just Mélanie and Stéphanie alongside simple guitar and banjo, here the sound is far more expansive - electric guitars, drums, percussion, bass synths, trombone - even a Kalimba and butter knife(!); all add texture and depth to a song that revisits familiar grounds - their childhood home and memories that can be wrapped around them like a well-worn but comforting shawl.
In the context of the album "Fais-moi un show de boucane" is arguably a bit of a departure. It's definitely up-beat and uptempo - as close to a cross-over daytime radio song as the sisters have written. It's bold, brash and more than a little sexy. But it's also a song that addresses some familiar themes; about being a teenager, carefree and more than a little in love.
Having listened to the album repeatedly over the weekend, it's obvious how much the sisters have matured as songwriters over the past couple of years; these are still songs about love, boys, voyages and experiences - there's a real sense that the songs are still very-much autobiographical (although the pair have admitted that the boundaries between fact and fiction are somewhat blurred) - and while there may still be a broken heart or two along the journey, these songs are no longer written from the perspective of two shy, young girls from the Gaspé Peninsula. These have been written by confident young women and they reflect their growing maturity.Boys feature quite prominently in the sisters' compositions. "Gab des Îles" features a boy and his truck. It's outwardly wistful, the melody simple and initially subdued - yet as percussion drums and piano are layered onto the sisters' by now trademarked harmonies - the song - brutally honest - is one of naked desire, intimacy and of life without regrets.
Meanwhile "Andaman Islands" harks back to a holiday romance - as well as the intimate style of "Les poids des confettis" and the perfect symmetry of Mélanie and Stéphanie's vocals, just accompanied by guitar and ukulele - and again the theme is one of lust and desire, cleverly captured in the song's lyric's; "Ce qu’on a vécu, nous deux, Ça se prend take out..." ("What we've experienced between us, We'll get take-out...") "Alexandre" is a song about eternal love and everlasting friendship; "Notre amour est pas perdu, J’vas le défendre, Même quand tu vas me faire chier..." ("Our love isn't lost, I'm going to defend it, Even when you're gonna piss me off...") built around a lilting folk-tinged melody (there's that ukulele again) and angelic, ephemeral harmonies.
Frankly though the romantic in me doubts he'll hear a more touching love song this year than "Maison" - utterly captivating, the gentle melody captures the image of the ramshackled beach house - it's a song that perfectly encapsulates Les sœurs Boulay - a deceptively simple yet totally enchanting melody married to their angelic harmonious vocals, apparently pulled-off so effortlessly - while the lyrics implore "Veux-tu y vieillir avec moi?" ("Do you want to grow old with me there?") - honestly, who could refuse such a request?
Wrought with emotion, "Prière" is perhaps the most delicate and melancholic song on the album. The song is another link to themes that their debut album touched upon. Here, Stéphanie's piano accompaniment adds to the air of insecurity as she waits to see if her prayers will be answered...
"De la noirceur naît la beauté" is an intensely dark and moving song - in an interview with BRBR the sisters hint at an underlying social message (which I apologise for being to dense to grasp - despite it rapidly become a bit of a fave...) - sung almost a cappella, save for haunting synths which accentuate the somber mood portrayed.
"Langue de bois" is probably the sisters' acerbic output to date and a comment on the enforced austerity and growing financial disparity that inflicts society (There's clever use of English - whom I suspect are the target of the sisters' scorn). The song's gentle folk rhythms are augmented with Renaud Gratton's Trombone - which arguably sets the song's tempo throughout - and a rock-pop chorus that again highlights their truly majestic voices. More importantly these two songs suggest that the sisters can use music to comment upon wider issues (the sisters are vocal members of the Québec environmental rights organisation Élan Global which is highlighting the insidious influence of rightwing and industrial alliances to pollute and circumvent the democratic process).
The sisters again let-off steam with "Sonne-décrisse" as they rally against meaningless small-talk and mealy mouthed platitudes. The uptempo folk-tinged melody and forthright confident vocals are intended to challenge the status-quo, but while the lyrics suggest a hint of doubt, you know that these confident young women will overcome whatever uncertainty they encounter.
The album's title track encapsulates all those intensely personal moments that make a house - the fictional address of "4488 de l'Amour" - into a home. It's a truly effortless folk-tinged song that pair seem to be able to crank-out at the turn of a wheel and which also touches upon those enduring bonds of friendship and love. Nice touches involving flute and organ makes this whimsical song so difficult not to fall hopelessly in love with... Whimsical could actually be used to describe "T'es ben mieux d'les ouvrir tes yeux" which neatly closes the album on a lighter, upbeat note and which leaves us not only wanting to hear but also join the sisters on their road-trip to the Val-d'Or. Infectious whistling and bright trumpet add to mood of joyfulness as the sisters' dulcet vocals fade for the final time - that is until you hit the 'repeat' button...
"4488 de l’Amour" is another chapter on Mélanie and Stéphanie Boulay's musical journey. Surrounding themselves with some old friends - Philippe B is again behind the controls while Manuel Gasse and the aforementioned Stéphane Lafleur lend a hand with both words and music - the album see the sisters emerge as mature, cosmopolitain auteure-compositrice-interprète. However, despite the fact that over the past couple of years the sisters have made a considerable impression in the Francophone community worldwide, they remain true to their Gaspé Peninsula roots, continuing to write and express themselves in their native Québécois-French (even if this does make grasping the nuances of their lyrics somewhat difficult - seriously does someone do a really good English - French-Canadian dictionary / thesaurus?) The end result is an album full of vignettes about love, life, travels and astute social commentary which sees Les sœurs Boulay expand their musical horizons without ever losing touch of their musical identity...
Album of the Year / Disque de l'Année
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