Autour De Lucie - Immobile

The second album, released in 1997 by the French pop group. Part of the album's pleasure is that it's so badly named. Autour de Lucie haven't just stood still and stuck with the sound of their debut, but instead Immobile adds shading and texture to the band's sound without sacrificing melodicism. Catchy as hell, but it's not digested after a few listens. There are all sorts of things you don't pick up at first, like the horns on 'La 2me chance' (The 2nd Chance) because they've been woven so subtly into the mix. The sound of Immobile is darker, denser and harder. Like any pop band trying to keep up, Autour de Lucie have paid attention to the influence electronica is having on pop and dance music. On many of the numbers Valerie Leuillot's voice seems to be coming to US over a phone wire or out of a battered transistor radio. Fuzz and ambient noise, snatches of half-heard conversation hover around the background of the songs. But it's the guitars that tell the story here. The ones that open the album on 'Selon l'Humeur' (Depending on the Mood) have the sound of thick metallic cords being snapped and suddenly pulled taut. The rubbery underwater sound of the guitars on 'L'eau Qui Dort' (Sleeping Water) wouldn't sound out of place on a Chris Isaak number. Guitarist Jean-Pierre Ensuque seems to be stretching his melodic lines out to see how far they can go. For such a listenable album, there's nothing sugary it. ^#^at moments, when guitars slash through the moody atmosphere, it's as if the band had figured a way to use grunge's slow/fast/slow rhythms for pop purposes. Given the obliqueness of some of the best music of the last few years the language barrier shouldn't be a barrier to Autour de Lucie at all. If you sink deep enough into the textures of these songs, it feels like an invitation to make your own meanings. EMI. 2005.

1) Selon L'humeur
2) Immobile
3) Qu'avons-Nous Fait
4) Chanson Sans Issue (Ne Vois-Tu Pas)
5) La Verite (Sur Ceux Qui Mentent)
6) Sur Tes Pas
7) Sagrada Familia
8) L'eau Qui Dort
9) L'autre Nous
10) Les Promesses
11) Je Vous Ai Tue Ce Matin
12) Atomium
13) La 2Eme Chance
14) Chanson Sans Issue (Remixe)