Throwback… Tuesday?
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[6.83]
Thomas Inskeep: This glam rock throwback feels so gorgeously louche, thanks in part to its sleazy saxophone, but also to Lenoir’s vocals, which always sound like they’re just about to go over the edge of a cliff. But then there’s that defiantly four-on-the-floor woodblock, that descending piano that opens the song, the way Lenoir tosses in an “alright” and “all night” in the lead-up to the chorus, interrupting his French. And then that chorus just slaps you in the face. If Roxy Music had gotten stuck in, say, 1975, I’d imagine this is how they might sound today.
[10]
Alfred Soto: The slight piano boogie and white ARP noise is closer to ELO than Roxy Music, and I accept “Fille de Personne II” as throwback.
[6]
Juana Giaimo: The retro style of “Fille de Personne II” has the right amount of nostalgia because it is combined with an joyful spirit. The wall of sound, the empowering vocal harmonies and the upbeat trumpets all remind me of those summer evenings when everything is just alright, as Hubert Lenoir says repeatedly in the song.
[7]
Juan F. Carruyo: Saxophone-and-cowbell propelled and aided by a jubilant chorus that isn’t afraid to turn up the crunch on the guitar section, this is an altogether pleasant ditty. Then I started hearing the screams in the background of the instrumental sections and somehow, it became even more jubilant.
[7]
Anthony Easton: I have seen him play live a few times, and in those performances, and this space, it has this kind of deep sincerity — what reads as camp or as irony is incredibly po-faced, in that Québecois Cirque du Soleil way. I’ll find it grating and cheesy, but other people seem to be fond of the work.
[5]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: You can tell how joyous this song is from its very first “hey!” The arrangement then successfully places you within a headspace of unflappable contentedness, and that swell two-thirds into the song is quietly invigorating. A good song to wake up to.
[6]