Rosie Valland
I've raved about the young Québecoise Rosie Valland in the pages of this blog twice this year already; her eponymous debut EP and the single "Rebound" both marked this insanely talented auteure-compositrice-interprète as an artist to follow. So the release of her debut album "Partir avant" was the third of the trio of albums that I was eager to get my hands on upon returning from my sojourn Down Under...
"Partir avant" is an album born out of break-up and heartache; of conversations that never took place; of closure and finally being able to move-on. Like so many great albums (and trust me, this is one of the best releases of 2015), this collection feels intensely personal. For the most part the nine songs on this stunning debut album are wrought with emotion. There's an overwhelming air of melancholy, the atmosphere is sombre; this is a dark journey that Rosie has undertaken. But it is also incredibly cathartic, there is hope and salvation. By the end of this album you know that Rosie has emerged unbowed and stronger...
The album opens with the magnificent "Oublier". From the starkness of the guitar - and I'm enraptured by the way that Rosie can make this intrument cry - to her emotion-wrenched voice and the haunting tristesse of the synths, here is a song that drips with a heavy sadness. Painted with the same monochrome palette as her debut EP,the song - the realisation that as she looks into your lover's eyes, she only see the reflection of their new object of affection - vividly capturing that moment the embers are extinguished.
As the Franco-Canadian music blog La Canal Auditif so succinctly describes it - this is an album born out of distress and shattered dreams...
That feeling of distress surfaces on"Noyer", a song that again features Rosie's trademarked plaintive guitar work and emotion-wracked vocals. It's yet another incredibly haunting and atmospheric song which gathers momentum towards its close, instruments are layered on top of one another creating a warmth where none was expected to be found. Indeed it strikes me that while again a post-breakup song, "Partir avant", is noticeably more up-beat; the song is driven by a hypnotic percussive beat and the vocals are gloriously multi-tracked. The end result is a beautifully complex and textural number that ends in looking forward, rather than back...
However, it is the utterly compelling "Nucléaire" that may well be my favourite song on the album. Haunting synths and reverbed guitar couple with arguably Rosie's finest vocal performance - at one fragile, tinged with regret, yet at the same time powerfully projected - somehow a song about the Le fin du monde and the planet being engulfed in flames never sounded more seductive...
As hinted, themes of false promises do indeed feature large. Back in January I reviewed "Rebound" commenting on the autobiographical nature of the song(!) Here there are hints of anger to match the regret in her voice (the 'rebound' of the song's title) that are highlighted by touches of brass that not only add depth, but also tension.
"Partir avant" is an album born out of break-up and heartache; of conversations that never took place; of closure and finally being able to move-on. Like so many great albums (and trust me, this is one of the best releases of 2015), this collection feels intensely personal. For the most part the nine songs on this stunning debut album are wrought with emotion. There's an overwhelming air of melancholy, the atmosphere is sombre; this is a dark journey that Rosie has undertaken. But it is also incredibly cathartic, there is hope and salvation. By the end of this album you know that Rosie has emerged unbowed and stronger...
The album opens with the magnificent "Oublier". From the starkness of the guitar - and I'm enraptured by the way that Rosie can make this intrument cry - to her emotion-wrenched voice and the haunting tristesse of the synths, here is a song that drips with a heavy sadness. Painted with the same monochrome palette as her debut EP,the song - the realisation that as she looks into your lover's eyes, she only see the reflection of their new object of affection - vividly capturing that moment the embers are extinguished.
As the Franco-Canadian music blog La Canal Auditif so succinctly describes it - this is an album born out of distress and shattered dreams...
That feeling of distress surfaces on"Noyer", a song that again features Rosie's trademarked plaintive guitar work and emotion-wracked vocals. It's yet another incredibly haunting and atmospheric song which gathers momentum towards its close, instruments are layered on top of one another creating a warmth where none was expected to be found. Indeed it strikes me that while again a post-breakup song, "Partir avant", is noticeably more up-beat; the song is driven by a hypnotic percussive beat and the vocals are gloriously multi-tracked. The end result is a beautifully complex and textural number that ends in looking forward, rather than back...
However, it is the utterly compelling "Nucléaire" that may well be my favourite song on the album. Haunting synths and reverbed guitar couple with arguably Rosie's finest vocal performance - at one fragile, tinged with regret, yet at the same time powerfully projected - somehow a song about the Le fin du monde and the planet being engulfed in flames never sounded more seductive...
As hinted, themes of false promises do indeed feature large. Back in January I reviewed "Rebound" commenting on the autobiographical nature of the song(!) Here there are hints of anger to match the regret in her voice (the 'rebound' of the song's title) that are highlighted by touches of brass that not only add depth, but also tension.
"Quebec City" and "St-Denis" are both songs that again caution against love on the rebound. The former is a claustrophobically dark song, the edgy grunginess amplifies a foreboding menace which warns of stumbling out of one relationship into the outwardly inviting arms of another. It's a song that also highlights Rosie is an incredibly accomplished guitarist.
"St-Denis" on the other hand is more up-beat, lighter in both texture and tone - almost summery - especially with the song's flowery coda. However, you can't help but feel that Rosie longs to escape from here, probably on her bicycle.
And while the album closes with "Finalement" (naturally) and a song which not only again appears to offer closure but also more than a hint of revenge, it is with "Olympe" that Rosie has perhaps crafted the most obvious example of a radio-friendly pop-song (hello KCRW); while the mood is still one tinged with emotion, it is noticeably lighter. The edginess in the voice has been replaced by a more soothing mellowness, while synths and electric guitar help create a rich and easily recognisable popish melody. The soaring refrain and catchy hook suggest that Rosie Valland is more than capable of turning out intelligent adult-themed pop songs - if she so chooses...
"Partir avant" has once again been expertly arranged and produced by Jesse Mac Cormack (the man behind the controls for all of Rosie's released work so far). Jean-Philippe Levac provided the metronomic percussion, while Rosie Valland confirms her exceptional song-writing talents with which she has seemingly effortlessly married to her distinctive guitar style and so-impassioned voice.
We may never know who was responsible for rupturing Rosie's heart, an event which acted as the catalyst for this intensely personal collection of songs. But as a fan of intelligent, thought provoking and thoughtful performances such as these, I will forever owe a debt of gratitude. It is my opinion (which after all is what this blog is all about), Rosie Valland deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Salomé Leclerc (this is high - but deserved - praise) and I would also suggest that she has not only released as good a debut album as I've heard in a long-while - and which deserves to be taken into consideration when rewards are being distributed by and amongst her peers - but one of such complexity and maturity that not only belies her young years, but which augurs well for the future.
Yearlist
Rosie Valland "Partir avant" (Bandcamp)
And while the album closes with "Finalement" (naturally) and a song which not only again appears to offer closure but also more than a hint of revenge, it is with "Olympe" that Rosie has perhaps crafted the most obvious example of a radio-friendly pop-song (hello KCRW); while the mood is still one tinged with emotion, it is noticeably lighter. The edginess in the voice has been replaced by a more soothing mellowness, while synths and electric guitar help create a rich and easily recognisable popish melody. The soaring refrain and catchy hook suggest that Rosie Valland is more than capable of turning out intelligent adult-themed pop songs - if she so chooses...
"Partir avant" has once again been expertly arranged and produced by Jesse Mac Cormack (the man behind the controls for all of Rosie's released work so far). Jean-Philippe Levac provided the metronomic percussion, while Rosie Valland confirms her exceptional song-writing talents with which she has seemingly effortlessly married to her distinctive guitar style and so-impassioned voice.
We may never know who was responsible for rupturing Rosie's heart, an event which acted as the catalyst for this intensely personal collection of songs. But as a fan of intelligent, thought provoking and thoughtful performances such as these, I will forever owe a debt of gratitude. It is my opinion (which after all is what this blog is all about), Rosie Valland deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Salomé Leclerc (this is high - but deserved - praise) and I would also suggest that she has not only released as good a debut album as I've heard in a long-while - and which deserves to be taken into consideration when rewards are being distributed by and amongst her peers - but one of such complexity and maturity that not only belies her young years, but which augurs well for the future.
Yearlist
Rosie Valland "Partir avant" (Bandcamp)
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