Quote:
Originally Posted by Toc De Mac
I have to say that only recently have I been able to appreciate Psychédélices as an album. From the time that I bought the album when it was released to a couple of months ago, I couldn't get into it. The style was too startlingly different from Gourmandises and Mes Courants Electriques, and I couldn't help but classify (most of) the songs as generic and lacking of soul.
But now I feel as if the album functions very coherently, and while its beauty isn't perhaps as obvious as that of her two former albums, it's definitely there.  |
I think Boutonnat’s music, as well as being really good, is also immediately accessible. Psychédélices does take a little more getting used to. I had no problem going from Mylene’s lyrics to Jean Fauque’s. But the hardest thing for me to get used to was the music itself, and more precisely, the arrangements. The mix tends to be sparse, and the little sounds and noises interspersed throughout the album didn’t make up for that. They seemed like gimmicks rather than musical ideas. Alizée's voice sits somewhat cold and naked in the mix at times. I think this is why the songs give that first impression of being generic and lacking soul. Some of the arrangements did not support “soul” very well.
Boutonnat provided a lush, musical, wall of sound - a rich, warm blanket to wrap around Alizée's voice. To me, that was the biggest difference between old and new. If it had been up to me, I would have had different arrangements on some of the songs, not different songs. I really do like the songs themselves on Psych and despite what I've said I feel it was a good album. I feel sad that it wasn’t more appreciated, especially in France.