Mylène Farmer

I'm not sure what more there is to say about Mylène Farmer. Artist and songwriter, author, actress, entrepreneur - and more than a little reclusive - she's arguably the most successful French artist of her time, having sold - over the course of twenty studio, live and compilation albums  - more than 40 million discs worldwide. She is also probably my favourite artist - ever since I first heard 1991's "L'Autre" - I've been totally smitten...

"Interstellaires" is Mylène's tenth studio album. It's also only the second of her 30-year career without long-time collaborator Laurent Boutonnat (the first was 2010's "Blue Noir" - IMHO arguably her most complete album since the  nineties' duo of "Anamorphosée" and "Innamoramento.") Here the album is entrusted to Grammy nominated LA-based producer Martin Kierszenbaum - who also co-wrote the bulk of the songs along side Mylène - and French house / electro producer The Avener.

So it goes without saying that I have been eagerly awaiting this album and was about to enter into a Faustian pact to procure a copy. However - as I've hinted in the past - I don't generally review albums that aren't released here (it's a 'cutting my nose to spite my face' sort of thing); this was going to be my secret purchase...  But, seeing as Kierszenbaum is Chairman of CherryTree Records (home here in the US to the wonderful Cœur de pirate) and thus thanks to a digital distribution deal with CherryTree / Interscope in The States, "Interstellaires" may well be the first Mylène Farmer album that is readily available here (now about "Timeless...")

And It's apparent from the opening bars of the album's opening and title track that Mylène has moved on 2012's disjointed "Monkey Me" and challenged herself to craft an innovative album that seamlessly mixes rock, pop and electro; one which suggests that "Intersellaires" / "Interstellar" is a truly apt title. Anthemic, the rock undercurrent - electric guitar, solid bass and pounding percussion - recalls both "Vertige" and "Tomber 7 fois" from the "Anamorphosée" album - yet sounds totally fresh and contemporary.

Now the song that has gotten the most attention here in The States is Mylène's duet with Sting on the re-imagining of "Stolen car" from his 2003 album "Sacred Love" (there was even an article in "Rolling Stone") and while I'm not the biggest fan of the Geordie songster, the interplay between Sting and Mylène - on a song that neatly intertwines the lives of a philandering businessman and his mistress with that of the car-thief - works particularly well. While Rolling Stone played up the sexiness (per-lease) of the song's French lyrics, The Avener's deft electro-pop touches and the ease at which both artists switch effortlessly between each other's languages lightens the mood of the original. This isn't the first time that Mylène has duetted with an Anglophone artist ("Slipping away (Crier la vie)" and "Looking for my name" with Moby and Seal with "Les mots"), but I'd argue this is the most natural.



However this wouldn't be a Mylène Farmer album without a sumptuous ballad or two. The album's first, "A rebours" features simple keyboards, spoken verses and a soaring chorus. The verses, deliberately monotone, are brilliantly counterpoised by soaring chorus and Mylène's bright refrain. The song speaks of trying in vain to escape from the past by trying to rewind back to a moment in time; "...Mais l'amour, Je sais... est, À portée d'aimer, Aidez-moi, Retrouver les clés, Il faudra... m'apaiser enfin..." / "...And love, I know is, Within reach of loving, Help me, Find the keys, It will... finally soothe me..." Meanwhile "Love song" is pure a power ballad - a soft rock undercurrent of pulsating keys that give way to a crash of guitars is married to flowing vocals and typically Farmeresque lyrics. It's a genre that plays to Mylène's strengths and here she delivers a nigh faultless example... 

And then there is "Insondables", a beautiful and haunting ballad - there's an air of tristesse - heightened by the metronomic rhythm and breathless vocals that evokes the passing of time and which hints at separation and loss from the viewpoint of a man alone. Is the song a metaphor - as some have suggested - of the relationship between Mylène and Laurent Boutonnat? "...Et le ciel est sans nuages, Et les jours semblent longs, Perdu le coeur d'une femme, Et la mort porte son nom..." / "...And the sky is cloudless, And days seem long, Lost the heart of a woman, And death bears his name..." And while the video is littered with mementos of her career, I suspect only one person really knows the answer - and she probably isn't letting on...



"C'est pas moi" finds Mylène rallying against the boredom and safety that conformity brings (as Farmernistas have long realised, rejecting the restrictions imposed by society is a recurring theme). The song builds on an incredibly addictive and funky electro-beat that percolates throughout before another of Mylène's glorious soaring choruses that is reminiscent of the sparkling refrain - Rugrats fans - of "L'histoire d'une fée, c'est..."

"Pas d'access" revisits electro-pop, but whereas the titles on "Monkey Me" were accused of being stilted and dull (and even I'll admit they were at times a little repetitive), here a pulsating electro-beat are bright synths bubble beneath Mylène's engaging vocals - deep, powerful that ascend during her trademark soaring refrains. The lyrics are typically Mylènesque - ephemeral, imagery of feeling trapped before escaping to the skies ("...Je suis birdy...") - the production thoroughly modern, totally in-tune with the album's feel.

There's usually at least one or two totally left-field choices on any Mylène Farmer album... "Voie lactée" sees verses mixed with reggae and urban beats before launching into arguable one of the most beautiful, uplifting and harmonious refrains that she has written for a long while; ("...Comme les flocons d'air, De neige en hiver, Qui fondent au printemps, Me perdre, Dans la voie lactée..." / "...Like the flakes of air, Of winter snow, That melts in spring, I lose myself, In the Milky Way...") In many respects "Voie lactée" is the song that sums up this magnificent album - the metaphor of the infinite expanse of the Milky Way summing up the expansive, yet unfinished, canvas of Mylène Farmer. However it is "I want you to want me" which is arguably the most surprising track on the album. Here Mylène takes a rock standard - yes, this is Cheap Trick's "I want you to want me" (any anyone who was anyone had a copy of "Live at the Budokan" and on 'kamikaze' yellow vinyl to boot) and turns it into a poignant love song. To my knowledge it's the first time that Mylène has performed a song wholly in English and while I wouldn't necessarily to record a complete album in my mother tongue, her faultless interpretation and effortless adaptation leaves me thirsting for more (tbh, I'd settle for a gig or two here in The States...)

The album closes with two frankly peerless pop songs - both are balladesque in nature - both demonstrate that when she is on her game, Mylène has few peers. "City of love" opens with plaintive, haunting piano before being joined by percussion, vocals and a truly majestic chorus as Mylène sets out to build her city of love. The chorus I swear I will carry to my grave. This song truly illustrates a Mylène Farmer at her peak.  

But it is the album's closing number, "Un jour ou l'autre" that literally makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It's a song that is so beautiful, so poignant that I get the shivers each time I listen. If you've ever heard "Rever" - or seen the clips from her "Live À Bercy" or Mylenium" concerts you'll already have appreciated the gentleness, fragility and emotion that her voice can convey. There is just something quite moving when piano and voice are intertwined as magically as here. "Un jour ou l'autre" is not only the best song on the album it is probably the best song she has written since "Rever."

"Interstellaires" is an immense album and without a doubt her best since 1995's "Anamorphosée." This is an album that amply demonstrates why Mylène Farmer is the most innovative artist of her generation and why even after a career that has spanned thirty years, there are few who can match her.

Album of the Year Hors Categorie

Mylène Farmer ""Interstellaires" (iTunes)