Mister Mystère, the long-awaited studio album follow-up to the chart-topping smash success
Qui de Nous Deux? (2003), casts
-M- (i.e., singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matthieu Chédid) in a new role. The pink-suited and pointy-haired wildman pictured on the front cover of
Qui de Nous Deux? has given way to a shadowy man of mystery draped in contrasting black-and-white colors and hidden beneath the brim of his hat.
Mister Mystère isn't a full-blown concept album, but it's certainly conceptual, not only in terms of costume but also lyrics. The genesis of the album can be traced back to "Mister Mystère," a song Chédid co-wrote with
Brigitte Fontaine for her album
Libido (2006). A new version of the song opens
Mister Mystère, and the man-of-mystery motif plays out over the course of the album, much of it written in tandem with
Fontaine. The lead single, "Le Roi des Ombres" (whose title translates to "The King of Shadows" in English), nicely encapsulates Chédid's new persona, and the primarily instrumental late-album highlight "Hold Up" is a vivid portrayal of his eventual demise. Besides
Fontaine, Chédid shares songwriting credits with his famous father, the singer
Louis Chédid, and George Kretek, whom he collaborated with on the
Vanessa Paradis album
Divinidylle (2007). While much of the album is conceptual, the music is wide-ranging in terms of style, veering from guitar rock strut ("Mister Mystère") to gentle acoustic pop ("Phébus"), soul-funk ("Est-ce Que C'est Ça?"), soul-pop ("Le Roi des Ombres"), blues-rock ("Tanagra"), chanson ("L'Elixir"), Afro-pop ("Amssétou"), and so on. Those hoping for a reprise of prior
-M- albums are bound to be disappointed by
Mister Mystère, a clear departure that is not so much a step forward for Chédid as it is a playful sidestep away from high expectations. For all its conceptual qualities,
Mister Mystère is actually a modest effort. Most of the songs clock in around three minutes, and the album itself is over and done in around 40 minutes, not counting the abundance of bonus material. Even if it lacks the epic qualities one might have hoped for after the tremendous success of
Qui de Nous Deux? and the six-year wait that followed,
Mister Mystère is nonetheless impressive and one of the more entertaining French pop albums of the year. It's good to have
-M- back, even if he's cast in a different role than before.