Speak to me of glorious things. Speak to me of great musical endeavours. Speak to me of the magic of culture. Speak to me of Serge Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg? Would not our Serge – for he was closer to the middle of the edge than any of us – have offered his services to Coeur De Pirate – aka Béatrice Martin – as he had done for Vanessa Paradis and France Gall?
Our Béatrice, however, is no pop icon seeking credibility though and her album “Blonde” – there’s cultural reinforcement for you – is actually an eloquent collection of proper pop songs. Sure, they are in the idiom of French pop but that does not distract from their not inconsiderable charm for there is a fragmented delicacy to “Cap Diamant” that suggests a maturity beyond the sheer – and eminently enjoyable – fluffiness of “Les Amours Dévouées” or “Adieu”. It’s a ye-ye thing and no mistake about that and I shall forever sing the praises of the fifties style “Ava”.
You can feel the quality throughout this album. Pop gems sneak in everywhere but, and this is perhaps the most important thing, there is never the feeling that la Coeur De Pirate is anywhere near running out of steam. Now that I think of it, the mere fact that this album has been released on vinyl is more than mere indulgence of the artist. It is as it should be as the replay mechanism of the past is remarkably appropriate to the music. The past, as someone smart will no doubt say sometime soon, is truly the new black.