Oh, well, can't please everyone.
Maybe I should present a detailed critique of the sucker, as I did a few years ago for Psych. I'll link this post on Alizée's FB wall this evening to make sure she'll see it. (Desolé pour l'anglais mais si je l'écris en francais les gens ici ne pouvent pas le lire.)
Eden Eden -- this song reminds me of my boyhood in some ways. It's got a flower child feel to it. Somehow the fragility and unreality are conveyed along with the ethereal sweetness.
Grand Central -- I love this song. It does a fantastic job of conveying harshness and craziness. I feel like the chaos of Grand Central Station is a metaphor for frenzy running through someone's life. Beautifully done. My favorite song on the album. "J'ai faim, mon dieu, j'ai faim !"
Limelight -- this on the other hand is, for me, the weakest song on the album. The instrumentals are very good, and that saves it, but for Alizée that wonderful voice is almost everything, and this song is not a good showcase for her voice. The lyrics are too slow, the range of vocals too narrow. I like the breathy effect of the chant at the end, but on the whole this song could have been much better.
La Candida -- unfortunately I don't understand Spanish, so I can really only comment on the music here, which is great. Very catchy, cute, lively, and sweet. I like it even if I don't understand it.
Les Collines -- I love this song, too! It's one of several on the album where, in some of the lyrics, I almost feel she's singing to me personally. The repetitive chorus in English has come in for some criticism, but I feel it works well and is part of what makes the song addictive. The instrumentals, especially the drum, complement Alizée's voice wonderfully.
14 Decembre -- brilliantly done, from the haunting music to the word-play in the lyrics (e.g. "Des croix et des croisés").
A Coeur Fendre -- this is one of the darkest songs Alizée has ever sung, but also one of the more powerful. I still am not sure I understand all of the implications. I need to listen to it some more and delve more into the lyrics.
Factory Girl -- oh, my! What a powerful, grim reflection on Edie Sedgwick. Here the Sedgwick theme of the album comes through most strongly. Throughout this album there's some back-and-forth between Alizée as Sedgwick and as herself, but in this song she maximizes the role-play and does it very well.
Une Fille Difficile -- [to come]
Mes Fantomes -- this is another song where some of the lyrics seem almost to be singing to me personally. Unlike Factory Girl, this one goes to the other pole of Alizée as herself. There are clear references to her daughter, and not-so-clear reflections on her life, the details of things which aren't known. What I really like about it is the way it showcases Alizée's voice. She's really given a vehicle to deliver wonderful sound in this song.
The only overall bad thing I can say about UEDS is that there are no good songs for dancing to, but that's obviously not the intent. For the most part, what it tries to do, it does very well. I consider this overall to be the best of the four albums Alizée has released to date.