Le Couleur

I was moved to remark recently that Montréal is probably the epicentre of contemporary North American electro-pop and reeled off a whole list of artists to support my hypothesis. I also suggested however that I'd be making more than a few Mea culpas to those artists and bands I'd criminally overlooked.

So consider this post an apology. To be honest "Dolce Désir" by Le Couleur was a record that I really should have written about upon it's release last year. In fact I really should have shared my love of this band years ago. Since I picked up their 2010 album "Origami" via a free download from Bandcamp, I've been pretty much hooked by the band's crisp, bright and intelligent retro synth-pop that refuses to be bound by convention (check out "Une fille" to hear what I mean) all wrapped up in a certain Frenchness.  But for any number of pathetic excuses, I've never quite gotten around to it...

But first some introductions. Le Couleur are the Québecoise-Vietnamese chanteuse Laurence Giroux-Do - owner of the most note-perfect of sultry vocals - alongside guitarist / keyboardist Patrick Gosselin and drummer Steeven Chouinard (in fact the band's records are released on Montréal's premier Electro-pop label Lisbon Lux, the label co-founded by Steeven and producer Julien Manaud in 2013).

Inspired by and with a love of acts such as Daft Punk, Air and Sébastien Tellier the trio are the cornerstone of what is now a burgeoning electric-pop scene (although this hasn't always been the case. As Laurence points out "...Montréal is very folky and melancholy..." due to the rich - if somewhat traditional - musical heritage of the province).

"Dolce Désir" is only the band's third EP after 2008's Petit Piano Électrique" and 2013's "Voyage Love" (alongside "Origami" there have also been several remix albums) and builds on their addictively danceable synth-pop sound, filling with warm synths, a touch of romance and songs that both explore the vagaries of love as well as blur genders (the more astute amongst you will note the band use 'Le' rather than the grammatically collect 'La' to both emphasise the gender-neutrality but also as Laurence points out, historically all of the great bands were called The...)

The EP opens with "Club Italien" and another slice of the sublime synth-pop that the band have been effortlessly turning out for years. There's that timeless rhythm as deeply rich and warming synths percolate atop the harmonious jostle of keys and percussion. All the while Laurence's vocals just ooze charm and adds a certain je ne sais quoi of French allure. "Club Italien" feels and sounds very glamorous - it's an impression that band capture in the video that accompanies the song. But if "Club Italien" evokes a classy retro night-club, "Concerto rock" is a cent-pour-cent dance floor filler. The song is driven by pulsating Eighties bass that combines with a single-minded robotic beat to relentlessly power the song's hypnotic Euro-disco groove which gets the body movin'. All the while Laurence's seductively detached vocals sooth and calm the pulsating hedonistic rhythm.

"Autovariation #64" sees Le Couleur turn their hand at chilled Balearic trance. Bright and dreamy synths weave in and out of an industrial-pop beat. And while it may be an experimental piece ( a series of instrumental auto-variations) there's a mystic hypnotism to the song's catchy melody that is just perfect for capturing and unwinding during a couple of minutes of quality "me" time.

As befits a band who have released - in the best tradition of synth and electro-pop - several remix albums, "Dolce Désir" also includes a couple of revisits back to - and where it all started for myself - "Origami" (actually 'remix' doesn't do the consummate reworkings here justice)

Whereas "Télé-jeans" version deuxmilledix was a minimalist - almost garagy - piece of light, bobby synth-pop, here the song is far more textural - and while you could argue that it's full of hi-nrg frippery there's once again that deliciously interplay between Laurence's dreamy vocals and the danceable pop the band create. The ridiculously catchy chorus sees Laurence cooly confirm the androgynous concept that is the band's ethos; "...Fille ou garçon, On se pose la question, Une robe et un pantalon..." / "... Girl or boy, We ask ourselves / A dress and trousers..." And with "Tendresse particulière" the band have added a veneer of melancholy and heightened uncertainty as the bright percussion and synths of the original are sepia-tinted with resonant chords, haunting keys and gorgeously subdued vocals. This subtle reimagining is perhaps the perfect example of Le Couleur's timeless synth-pop.

I'm not sure that there's much more that I can say about "Dolce Désire" except that it is just the most perfect of synth-pop. At once both retro and incredibly contemporary, it's the perfect pick me up for whenever you need one...

Le Couleur (Website)

"Dolce Désir" (Bandcamp - includes "Voyage Love" EP), (Lisbon Lux)