Hey! I’m finally talking about an album that came out this year! This is the third album from Paris, France nouvelle chanson française/art pop/art rock band, Feu! Chatterton. I didn’t know who these guys were until a couple weeks ago, but I watched Our Melon Lord and Saviour, Anthony Fantano, recommend this album while butchering the French language far worse than I do, which is really saying something! I heard Compagnons for the first time and I was like “Damn! French indie!” and I was hooked! Now that I’ve listened to this album, the very first album I’ve listened to that was not in English, I think it’s more than just cool French indie, it’s just plain cool music. The production is pretty water-tight and there are no real mixing problems from what I could hear. The album makes this reverb-y room that is somehow both grounded, yet psychedelic. It really accentuates the singer in particular. The instruments are still pretty great though and everybody sound nice and clear. Speaking of instruments, it’s a nice blend of indie and electronic music. There are some points of the album that remind me of half alive, others that remind me of New Order (Lundi Bleu, si vous voulez) and some that remind me of some lo-fi folk music. They do it all and it really makes this album unique. The problem is, it has a scatterbrained structure. Speaking of not being sure about things, the lyrics were a challenge to wrap my head around to say the least! Not only is this album entirely in French, a language that I’ve studied for some time, but I’m still a little iffy on, but a poetic kind of French which is a completely different ball game! But I did not give up! This was the culmination of years of French training and if someone was going to take that challenge, it would be me, dammit! I’m pleased to report that I still got to feel something from this album, whether it was from me understanding the words, or a “je ne sais quoi” beyond them. Either way, this is a low-key, cool record and it’s enjoyable for multiple reasons.
PRODUCTION
The mixing on this album is pretty damn good! Voices are on top of the mix, and Arthur Teboul is given enough room to gun it, while a nice bed of instruments to adds a nice punch behind him and to fall back on when he goes soft. The harmonies are handled well too. They’re not fighting to be heard on songs like Compagnons. The vocals are also on top when the album goes soft on songs like Avant qu’il n’y ait le monde, on top of very well mixed instruments. There are very clear sounding pianos that sound nice and pretty. The bass is very present, and it’s never hidden, even in the heavy use of electronic instruments. Speaking of those, they sound really nice, and they fill out the sound without butting in too much. The song, Panthère is very different from the rest of the album from a sound quality standpoint and I like that choice to add a folksy angle, and perhaps a callback to the greats of French folk music. It has a dusty quality that sticks out like a sore thumb, but it makes the album more unique.
The effects are what I really like from this album the most when it comes to production. The reverb on the singer, Arthur Teboul’s voice is pretty standard in rock music as far as I’ve heard, but it really works for this album. It leads the charge in creating a room from track to track. This album has production that makes it sound like 4 walls of sound, especially vocal effects that bounce off the walls. The instruments are nice and balanced and the deep blue room that this album makes is simply fantastic. This is pop indie production and has that kind of high gloss style, but it’s done in such a way that makes this album pop. It may not be in your face, but that room is excellent.
COMPOSITION
Composition is very interesting to me. It has both analog and digital elements to its sound that it balances fairly well. Not completely seamless, but fairly well. Let’s start with the digital first, since that’s how the album starts with the quirky little intro of Un Monde Nouveau. The synths are digital, but they don’t go for a grating style, instead opting for a smoother style. Even the more dissonant sounds of synths are smooth here. The bassy qualities of Aux Confins are great for the darker vibe of the track. Right after that, you get these beautiful synths to give a background on La Mer (Voulez-vous faire des vacances en Corse ou quelque part au bord de la mer ?). I’m talking about synths because they make a large part of how this album works, and for their importance, they really bring the heat. Drums are always fantastic, and fit the vibe of each song they’re in, whether heavy on Libre, or quick on L’homme qui vient. They kind of have a Metric or Dear Rouge vibe to them on Aux Confins. They are either digital with drum machines on Cantique or analog on Libre. The drum machines have a disco vibe to them while analog bring a lot of genres to the table such as jazz, rock and indie pop. With a clear production, they always cut through and add a nice layer to this album as a whole. The hi hats and snares in particular are incredible and are among the crispest I’ve heard all year! As a drummer, I go crazy over this stuff. The bass on Libre is super full-sounding and adds a nice base for the guitar to do its thing. Guitars on Libre are really great as well, as they sounded a bit Pink Floyd-ish to me a la Animals. This is a band in every sense of the word and wow, do they form together like a French Voltron to make an interesting record.
As for album structure, it’s kind of flimsy. The tracks have a standard pop structure for the most part, which is fine. The problem with this album is that it doesn’t have as much of a flow from track to track. You kind of get that with the first three tracks for better or worse, but then it kind of stops dead in its tracks to do whatever. Going from Avant qu’il n’y ait le monde to Compagnons to Aux Confins gives me tonal whiplash. The transition, or lack thereof, from La Mer to Libre kind of reminds me In The Court of The Crimson King with its transition from Moonchild to its closer, but not done as well. Structure may leave a little to be desired, but some talking points about this album, at least from what I’ve heard, is the use of many genres. Now, Gordon Ramsey once said something about food that also may apply to music “Too much fusion causes confusion”. We’ve seen that before on Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface, but we thankfully aren’t seeing it here! We get a mix of jazz, dance, indie, rock, folk and the old chanson a la Jacques Brel. It feels like a celebration of all those genres, honouring their greats, but adding their own twist to it. Just talking about French music history (of which I am an outsider, so this is just from what I’ve been exposed to), Feu! Chatterton beautifully combines the old French chanson with the new electronic music that French has become known for. Kind of like Caravan Palace, but instead of simply making electronic music that samples big band era jazz, Feu! Chatterton uses every genre I described to make their own unique sound. Bravo !
LYRICS
Lyrics are actually really cool if you can get past the language barrier (if you’re a native English speaker like me, or just don’t speak French). But before we get to the words, let’s get to the guy singing them, Monsieur Arthur Teboul. I’m tempted to go for the whole “indie singer” label with him, but that would be a gross disservice to him. He uses his voice for a variety of emotions and they are all often at the most logical extreme, but he almost never goes overboard in a nasty way. Teboul is in hysterics on Ecran Total and it fits the manic dance vibe of the song beautifully. He gets reserved and downtrodden on Aux Confins, which kind of sounds like a combination of Pure Heroine-era Lorde and Neon Bible-era Win Butler from Arcade Fire. He also goes really soft on songs like La Mer and Panthere, which adds to the calming, comforting aspect of those songs. He clearly has emotional range and he unleashes it here.
Take this lyrical analysis with a grain of salt, as French is not my first language, so I’m definitely not as confident as I am in English. Have a sip of Chateau Petrus every time I say that! This is also the first album I’ve listened to that is entirely in a language that is not English, which is an even bigger challenge. But this album piqued my interest, so I gave it a shot to diversify my tastes, you know? The first three songs touch on modern society and how technology is making us miserable, and it’s pretty ham-fisted. But then it completely abandons that concept entirely to do whatever it wants. Some of these songs are about love like Avant qu’il n’y ait le monde. Others are about letting go such as Compagnons, Libre and Laissons filer, the closer. Laissons filer is a great way to end this album (not Monde Nouveau), but I feel like a tighter concept centred around that would make it punch more like The Tourist on Radiohead’s OK Computer. I find that they often recite and blatantly reference other poets and musicians in this album both French and not, and as such it is more of a poetic presentation. This made it even harder for me to understand the lyrics, as it was in a poetic French that I had never been exposed to before. I felt like a fish out of water, but it’s definitely the challenge I needed, not only to improve my French, but to become more of a cultured music listener. They were often touching on topics long touched on by English speaking contemporaries, but I was offered a different perspective, not just because of a different language and a different music scene compared to the English-speaking world that I never truly dove into all that deeply, but because this band in particular stands out. Even if you don’t speak French, this is a good record to listen to as the emotion often shines through, and that transcends any language.
CONCLUSION
En conclusion, c’est bon ! Feu! Chatterton put my French language skills to the test while providing me with a great album to go through with a fine-tooth comb. The production is pretty great. It strikes a balance between putting the vocalist in front and a well-mixed and recorded band to back him up and to shine once it’s their turn in the spotlight. The effects, while not in your face, add to the somewhat lowkey vibe of this record and create a room. Composition uses both analog and digital instruments to churn out great songs. Synths may run the show, but drums have my heart. This album’s main problem is structure, because it kind of darts around musical ideas from song to song. It teases you with a bit of thematic stuff, but then the album stops being that and does something else. But where it lacks in cohesion, it makes up for in using its influences well. Feu! Chatterton may wear their influences on their sleeve on Palais D’Argile, but they have many influences and it makes for this delicious blend of genres with the band’s own personal twist. A transcendent performance from lead singer, Arthur Teboul helps bring this album to life as he lays out the emotion of each song on this album amazingly. The lyrics themselves are pretty good as well from what I could understand. The language barrier is my problem to overcome and this album is my reward. I got an album that offered me a different perspective on the musical world that I had never quite considered before. Palais D’Argile combines the old school French pop music with the new school of French pop music and even though English speaking audiences might dismiss this album entirely simply because it is not in English, I would implore them to still give it a shot. You’d be doing yourself a favour.
I’m giving this one a Light 8/10.
FAVOURITE TRACKS: Un Monde Nouveau, Écran Total, Avant qu’il n’y ait le monde, Compagnons, Aux Confins, La Mer, Libre, Ces Bijoux de Fer, Panthère, Cantique, L’homme Qui Vient, Laissons Filer
LEAST FAVOURITE TRACK: Monde Nouveau
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