Seemingly rejuvenated by his brand new and much younger backing trio, Breton troubadour Miossec's eighth studio album, Chansons Ordinaires, owes very little to the traditional French song its title suggests. Its lyrics may be inspired by pre-war favorites Berthe Sylva and Maurice Chevallier, but after several albums of Gaellic folk and orchestral pop, the follow-up to 2009's Finisteriens is the most contemporary and alternative record of his 16-year career. "Du Bon Vieux Temps" intersperses its stoner rock riffs borrowed from Queens of the Stone Age's "No-One Knows" with carousel-style interludes before building up to an unsettling, jazz-rock crescendo; "Pour Les Amis" echoes the fervent indie rock of Arcade Fire with its pounding organ chords, driving beats, and garage rock hooks; while "Dramatique" begins with some lo-fi, grungy guitars and twinkling glockenspiels before bursting into life with a grandiose post-rock finale. It's a convincing transition, which makes you wonder why Miossec hasn't pursued such a direction before. His moody tones and cynical outlook on life are still very much in evidence, as shown on the psychedelic, mock-protest song "Protestataire" and the politically charged, avant-garde fuzz-pop of "Pour un Homme Couvert de Femmes." But his melancholic poetic delivery is so much more effective when accompanied by the album's prevalent, reverb-laden Wall of Sound, whether it's the guitar-shredding shoegaze of the My Bloody Valentine-esque "Pleine de Voix," the surging, angular alt rock of "D'un Fait Divers," or the dark "Qui Laisse Des Traces," whose somber, opening piano chords and faint pounding drums eventually give way to an atmospheric outro which sounds like it was recorded during the height of a particularly ferocious storm. The aimless art rock of "D'insomniaque" and the chugging, ghostly blues of "Sympathique" mean the album finishes with a bit of a whimper rather than the bang it deserves, but the consistently strong collection of songs ensures that Chansons Ordinaires is by far the most compelling album Miossec has ever recorded.
© Jon O'Brien /TiVo