La Patere Rose – Self Titled Album Review
La Patere Rose’s (my translator says their name is either The Rack Pink or The Pink Peg – I’ll go with the latter as it sounds cooler and makes some sense) self titled disc was nominated on the longlist for the Polaris Music Prize. Anyway while I complained of the number of Montreal based bands that ended up on the list, I liked what I heard from the 3 piece pop outfit.
In French for the most part with some English infused, I find myself like an outsider unable to understand the lyricism. So while I can only review a piece of the pie in regards to their talent, the band infuses experimental pop sounding different on each track. While it feels like every other song is a piano ballad and they seem to go all out on being different.
Fanny Grosjean aka Fanny Bloom has great vocals compared to Coeur De Pirate but perhaps a little more riskier and not afraid to scream every now and then. The band is very talented, even if I can’t understand the language, musically you can see they’ve made a great album. I think the one knock for me, is that it lacks consistency. Other then the tracks with just piano work, the other tracks lack a certain sound where as a listener, I’m really unable to get in my comfy groove. I just keep sitting in front of my laptop, unsure if I like song after song and when the piano-only tracks are wedged in between their off the wall risk-taking, it makes it even worse.
Granted, these are minor flaws even though I feel like I should like the album more. Language is hardly a barrier for La Patere Rose from making great music and that’s the key at the end of the day.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Good album. Their talent is very apparent and I probably should give a higher score, I just didn’t like the album as much (but still liked it but not to a point where I’m going crazy over them) as some of the parts really shined.
Maybe I should be regretting not learning our country’s second language…
Thanks to Grosse Boite for the hook up.
Jessicok by La Patere Rose
Decapote by La Patere Rose
Chamord Sur-Mer by La Patere Rose
(Apologies for the lack of accents used, got very lazy with using the appropriate characters)
Tags: album
