Fanny Bloom

Another "heavy-weight" album from another of this Blog's favourite artists...

The auteure-compositrice-interprète Fanny Bloom has been crafting intelligent pop music for several years; from the light, at times naïve and kooky keyboard-led songs of La Patère Rose to the unashamed Euro-Pop of "Pan" and her 'music for a piece of theatre' that is "Constellations."

So you could be mistaken for thinking that her latest eponymous solo album is a Greatest Hits cash-in. Au-contraire, mon ami - for while songs from "Pan", "Apprentie guerrière" and "La patère rose" all feature - the overwhelming feeling is that this is an intimate album of (re)interpretations and covers.

And yes I do mean intimate. It's almost as if Fanny has rolled up on my doorstep with just her piano (luckily, I live in a single storey house) to play just for me. Although since she admits there are also trumpets and strings, it turns out to be a very intimate soirée chez moi with the trio of Fanny and her piano alongside the trumpet and flugelhorn of Thomas Hébert and Pierre-Philippe Côté on the double-bass, cello and harmonium. Luckily, I've a largish front room...

The album opens with "Blanc" - by coincidence also the first track of "Pan" - and it's soon immediately apparent the direction the  new album is taking. While the original built upon Fanny's distinctive, beguiling vocal harmonies and piano accompaniment before bursting forth with glorious rolling choruses of multi-tracked vocals, percussion and keys, here - again while the piano is again prominent - the tone is more subdued, illuminated by deft touches of cello and somber brass. And while this treatment heightens the tristesse of the song's lyrics, there is as always a magnetic quality to Fanny's fragile vocals that leaves the listener transfixed and banishes any fear of the song becoming wrought in melodrama.

"Diachylon" - the first of the two new compositions on this album - follows in a similar vein. Again the mood is set by the sympathetic arrangement of piano and brass. The band-aid of the song's title, Fanny's captivating vocals expertly walk that thin line between those twin imposters of hope and despair as she struggles to hold her relationship together. Frankly, this is an immense song; alongside "Drama queens" it is arguably one of the best she's ever written. 

"Ta salive", the album's second new new song offers a complete change of mood. Where previously brass lent a muted air, here the tones take on a brightened hue; the piano notes are lighter, the mood uplifting. It's delightfully erotic. The lyrics perfectly capture that moment of anticipation and excitement - naked with wanton desire; "...Ta salive coulait dans ma gorge, Avec un goût de liberté, Mes frissons se cramponnent, À cette pensée..." / "...Your saliva dripping down my throat, With a taste of freedom, I cling to my thrills, At this thought..."

Both songs suggest that there's plenty more ink for Fanny to dip her quill.

But from somethings new to some that are old. "J'ai rêvé" and "Pacemaker" both hail from La Patère Rose's 2009 eponymous debut album. Both are archetypical La Patère Rose songs - bright - incredibly poppy (actually how best to explain La Patère Rose's sound? A sort of cross between an early Émilie Simon and a not-so in 'yer' face Lily Allen is the best I can think of...) Actually, I'm still convinced that "J'ai rêvé" is more of a nightmare - given that the dream in question depicts someone being engulfed in flames - but there's a certain naivety to the song, as if everything has been imagined by a child. Fast forward, and everything takes on a far more sombre tone. It's as if the events are being replayed through adult eyes. There's a slight weariness - tinged with sadness - to the vocal delivery. The pace is slightly funereal, heightened by the gravitas that harmonium chords bring to what is a masterful arrangement.

"Pacemaker" also benefits from a revisit. It's a love song - and in true La Patère Rose fashion it's young at heart - bouncy, bold piano, slightly off-key percussion and - yes - toe-tappingly poppy. Back in 2009 Fanny was head over heels in love with her amoureux and neither could keep their hands off of each other. Back to today and Fanny is slightly older, wiser... and still very much in love. The kitchen tiles still match the colour of her lover's eyes and there's a line in the song; "...Ha! Oui je t’aime pour longtemps..." After all these years she is still going to love for a long time. It's just a bit of dust in my eye, honest...

"Deadbird" is the second song off of "Pan" and again there's an air of sadness. While it was quite possible to get lost in that album's complex arrangements and be seduced by Fanny's soaring vocals, here it is impossible not to focus on not only the melancholiness of both lyrics and voice, but also how autobiographical the song feel.

"Respirer la fumée" is the sole representative from "Apprentie guerrière." (Am I allowed a small wibble? This is such an underrated album that surely deserved more than one track - "Ce que je voudrais" or the perfect pop of "Parfait parfait" perhaps?) Actually the transformation here is stunning. Again the song is stripped back to basics and slowed down. The emphasis is rightly on the lyrics -  totally changing the mood of the song - and highlights the uniqueness and seductive quality of Fanny Grosjean's voice.

So we've had some songs old and some songs new, and this album also includes a couple that are borrowed (and just a little blue). "Dis, quand reviendras-tu?" is a cover of Barbara's classic Nouvelle Chanson love song. Told from the viewpoint of a woman separated from her lover - to whom the song is quite clearly addressed - waiting impatiently for his return. Fanny's version remains faithful to the original - the composition is tailor made for the piano - and while you could argue that Fanny's pitch doesn't quite convey that same intensity of the original, it is still incredibly sympathetic interpretation and you can easily imagine this being a show-stopper if performed live.

Québec chanteuse Martine St-Clair's Eighties pot-boiler "Danse avec moi" is also reinterpreted here. The original is very much of it's time but here - stripped of the over-the-top Eighties production - I'd have to say that Fanny absolutely nails this song. "Danse avec moi" is a love song, but it's a fragile one - wrought with doubt and uncertainty - which is perfectly captured here.

And finally (all good things eventually come to an end - that's why they invented the 'Repeat' button...) Remember "Piscine" -  bouncy, frothy and resplendent with beats, brass and Latin rhythms - the sound of l'été Québecois 2014? Here, Fanny brings this album to a close with a version that even when shorn of all the original's dance floor arrangements and reimagined for piano and voice... And still packs the vitality of the original. It's the perfect song to round off a nigh-on faultless album...

Yearlist

Fanny Bloom (Website)
"Fanny Bloom" (Bandcamp)