Sebastien Tellier - My God is Blue (22/10/2012)
Sebastien Tellier has returned with his fourth studio album, My God is Blue, an extraordinarily interesting record, which focuses on the subtle side of French electro pop. It’s an engaging listen, something that is hard to grasp at Tellier has a masterful knack of drawing you further and further into his world on each subsequent track, until you are truly immersed in his world of electro funk, lush synths and irresistible vocals.
The orchestral and choral opening lines of Pepito Bleu gives way to the rich and dark tones of Tellier, singing in a love-filled French tone that needs no translation. It’s an interesting and thought-provoking way to start the album, especially when followed by the disjointed synth opening lines of The Colour of Your Mind. This song is much more in the vein of Tellier’s previous work, a downbeat by still uplifting song with some amazing subtle background synth work and some smooth sultry vocals on top.
Cochon Ville is a driving and buoyant pop tune which gives the record a different sound, one that is fun and careless. From there we see the first use of guitar in Magical Hurricane, slow acoustic number with love again being the central theme. This is a vastly varied record, from Russian Attractions featuring a pounding drumbeat to the thought provoking title track which even includes a backing brass band.
Tellier has put out an ambitious and charming record, one which is constantly exciting and at times, a soothing listen. With so many different textures and moods contained in the one record, one would think it could become too overwhelming. But the single thing that keeps this record grounded is the comforting and charming vocals of Tellier. It’s an album that reflects on our inner consciousness and makes us think, a welcome change to the vast majority of current popular music. Sebastien Tellier has made a record of real pop, and that is certainly a rare and exciting thing.
Sebastian Betten
The orchestral and choral opening lines of Pepito Bleu gives way to the rich and dark tones of Tellier, singing in a love-filled French tone that needs no translation. It’s an interesting and thought-provoking way to start the album, especially when followed by the disjointed synth opening lines of The Colour of Your Mind. This song is much more in the vein of Tellier’s previous work, a downbeat by still uplifting song with some amazing subtle background synth work and some smooth sultry vocals on top.
Cochon Ville is a driving and buoyant pop tune which gives the record a different sound, one that is fun and careless. From there we see the first use of guitar in Magical Hurricane, slow acoustic number with love again being the central theme. This is a vastly varied record, from Russian Attractions featuring a pounding drumbeat to the thought provoking title track which even includes a backing brass band.
Tellier has put out an ambitious and charming record, one which is constantly exciting and at times, a soothing listen. With so many different textures and moods contained in the one record, one would think it could become too overwhelming. But the single thing that keeps this record grounded is the comforting and charming vocals of Tellier. It’s an album that reflects on our inner consciousness and makes us think, a welcome change to the vast majority of current popular music. Sebastien Tellier has made a record of real pop, and that is certainly a rare and exciting thing.
Sebastian Betten