Salomé Leclerc

Still playing album review catch-up, but it would be seriously remiss of me not to include this stunning sophomore offering that was released whilst I was otherwise lost in translation...

Back in 2011, young Québécoise Salomé Leclerc released one of the most amazing debut albums in "Sous les Arbres" that my ears have been (and still are) infatuated with - an intoxicating mix of folk and indie sensibilities (something that here, south of the border, Angel Olsen has pulled off equally effortlessly) coupled with the most irresistible of rasping, breathless vocals - which left me awestruck by the talent of this mature-beyond-her-years, singer-songwriter. 

Seems I wasn't alone, as the album deservedly received universal critical acclaim...

And now three years later, Salomé is back with her eagerly awaited (and anticipated) new album  "27 Fois l'Aurore"...

The album opens with "Arlon", the single that was teased out earlier in the year and which offered the  first hints that this album might well be something special. The song builds on Salomé's tell-tale rasping, breathless floating over steady, quite deliberate percussion. Layers of heavily reverbed bass and electric guitar help to illustrate the image of a winter's night gives way to dawn; trees bending under the weight of recent snow-fall... it's hypnotically bewitching. But then the song picks up a gear, analogue synths kicks-in, the pitch of the vocals rises in a distinct lifting of both tempo and mood... Utterly glorious (see the video below for proof - recorded especially for Audiogram's anthology of the Qu
ébec music scene "TRENTE").

Again with guitar and reverbed bass to the fore we expert "En dedans" to follow in a similar vein. But while "Arlon" is ultimately uplifting, "En dedans", with it's imploring vocals is distinctly melancholy and triste. There's a gorgeous outro (or Coda - for those of you who have a musical bent) which kicks in about two-thirds of the way through; Sombre brass is overlaid with synths in a distinctive and downbeat change of pace which perfectly sums up the illusion of solitude and sadness this song portrays.

Yet in many ways both of these songs set out the stall for the album - this feels very personal, at times introverted and melancholy and on occasion wholly cathartic. Even when you translate the lyrics into English, it's fairly obvious as to the poetry the words convey.

The album is also incredibly sympathetically produced and arranged by Salomé and Philippe Brault (responsible for the gorgeous analogue synths that are as much a signature of this album as Salomé's spell binding vocals) - the at times sparse instrumentation is there to compliment Salomé's irresistible voice. There are expert touches everywhere to be beheld and enjoyed, the way in which the guitar almost cries on "Devant les canons" or the plaintive piano over the sound of the wind whistling on the shore during "Un bout de fil" - as evocative as the scenario it paints; the haunting goodbye that is "Et si cette fois était la bonne", somehow the haunting brass and synths of the outro convey the mood and just seem somehow fitting...

On such a scarily consistent album as this, it's incredibly difficult to pick out a favourite track - this is one of those albums that challenges you to identify with a particular mood or moment... Not that I'm a Sad Boy, but there is just something abso-bloody-lutely seductive about analogue synths and loops on "L’icône du naufrage" and once again there's something magically enthralling about the voice - the song is at the same time both haunting yet melodic, with the title a sad and reflective metaphor... Or "Le bon moment" - incredibly cathartic - heavier, filled with drum and distorted, reverbed guitar which is ultimately lifted by soaring brass, piano and synths (here's an acoustic version below thanks to BRBR...)


Although I'd already had prior warning that the album was indeed something special, Guuz at Filles Sourires himself admits to be shaken by this album and I have to similarly confess to being somewhat taken aback - almost intimidated - by the frightening display of quality here.

While "27 Fois l'Aurore" is the perfect album for those long walks on windswept beaches, for dodging autumnal showers and for moments of reflective tranquillity, I was going to add "Year-list" to the epitaphs that would resoundingly fail to describe how good this album is.

Lets just instead agree that this is Album of the Year...  

Salomé Leclerc Website
"27 Fois l'Aurore" Audiogram, iTunes

Comments

  1. Welcome back to Turtle Island, Steve. We missed your posts. This is indeed an amazing album. She will be performing in Vancouver in November. You might also like Mara Tremblay's new album, À la manière des anges.

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    1. Hi Shawn - thanks for the kind words and thanks for the tip about Mara Tremblay, I'll check her out (I've heard her track on Audiogram's compilation "Trente") Secret Sun are next up on my list of artists from North of the Border, I've listened to the album a couple of times and like yourself, I like the way that they push at the synth pop boundaries (a bit like Propaganda in fact). Also intrigued by the Lisa LeBlanc album you recently wrote about...

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