Paradigmes (studio album) by La Femme

Although it's shame that Clemence Quelennec left the band and her presence is missing here, it's still one of the most fun and entertaining albums of this year. And French language is truly beautiful!

After three and a half listens – there were four of them, but one was under dubious circumstances, so it barely counts - I have to admit I still don’t know, I guess it’s one of those albums you aren’t supposed to take seriously. Actually, let me rephrase, the less seriously you take it, the better it sounds. The best way I could describe this is that a couple of friends got together, were a bit bored and thought let’s make an album and make sure we have a good time. This is all over the map and never approaches tedious or repetitive territory, it keeps its entertainment value rather high throughout its entire running time, as it has various aces up its sleeve. For example, Disconnexion adds a country twist that seemingly comes out of nowehere. Foreigner sounds like something Daft Punk would have made if they were a Britpop band, go figure. Lâcher de chevaux is like Knights Of Cydonia meets Take A Bow with a touch of The 2nd Law as well. The language barrier was a non-factor for me, I don’t think profound lyrics is what they were going for anyway. I would argue towards the opposite direction, ie. the aesthetics of the French language contributed to the catchy, ear-pleasing outcome. So, it’s a bit like a B-movie, it may be a guilty pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless - hopefully this didn't sound too harsh, apologies if it did.

From Mercury 04/06/2021 15:14

(A charming and varied - very varied - French pop album that ably dabbles in many genres and styles. Sounds like a party. And that is pretty cool.)

After several listens I think I still don't have a good hold on what this album is saying or doing. The simple explanation for that is because I don't speak french and don't have the time or, more accurately, interest and drive to look up translations. And musically it is all over the place. But wherever the music goes there are interesting sounds and they keep it catchy and lively the whole way through.

Love the electro-pop tracks (such as Nouvelle New Orleans) are just really beautiful and fun, the somewhat melancholy ballad "Le sang de mon prochain" is excellent, the opener with its brass and its general energy is a great way to start things off, "Foreigner" is also excellent, and the weird banjo-heavy track "Disconnexion" is excellent and a bit weird as well.

Don't have much else to say. I thought was an interesting, all over the place, genre-jumping little gem. Recommended to, well, most people.