Copernic# – 24 Lights
This is – to my ears – a very strong Pop album. It takes its lead from trip-hop but the intoxicant fuelling it is more likely sex than skunk. This is a gorgeous album for a day in bed without the curtains opening. It is in places steeped in seduction, fantasy and romantic love. The band are French but sing (flawlessly) in English which throws up the odd unusual lyric. “Cherry me” singer Regina sings on Sweet Love – well, I can guess what it means but I never heard it put like that. I assume the meaning is similar to Like A Virgin. The lyrics overall are slight but work in the song settings, the vocals are conversational but marvellously strong. The lack of vocal trills and embellishment is welcome and helps keep the mood throughout.
Album midpoint The Beauty is a romantic dream, musically minimal, yearning for the ideal of love – it finishes with a storm of longing. My Wizard (the temptation to mention wands and wizards sleeves here is almost impossible) is more fantasy and works much better than the earlier Bond Girl, the weakest track. The vocals are so fine and prominent that it is easy to forget the importance of the band (including Regina’s bass) but the music is excellent and underplayed giving the vocals the very best setting. Despite this being a dark Pop album it has minimal but excellent guitar, which lashes when it needs to and restrained keys and drums. Some songs make love; some – like the dark Love Etc – are about fucking. Although that one finds the band at their dirtiest the lyric suggests Regina wants release from a failing relationship – the “tell me what you want now, tell me that you want me” sound sexy AND desperate. It also has guitar like David Rhodes of Random Hold/Peter Gabriel band. The album ends with the morphine requiem Welcome To Minea a feminine reflection of a Doors like sensuality. A perfect finale.
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