French musician Laurent Girard normally works in a primarily electronic medium, subtly altering the sounds of acoustic instruments into a form of glitchy but ultimately placid lounge music. On his seventh album under the project name
Melodium, Girard steps away from that style into something simpler and more melodic. The 17 brief pieces on
Flacana Flacana ("Flacana 01" through "Flacana 17" inclusive) are built on simple acoustic guitar and piano melodies; some, like "Flacana 14," are processed à la
Fripp & Eno into ambient pop soundscapes, and several introduce subtle layers of electronic crust under the primary instruments. Overall, however,
Flacana Flacana is almost new agey in its peaceful, dreamy elegance. Fans of the pastoral instrumental pop of
Virginia Astley will find much to love here.