Chords for Klô Pelgag - Notre​-​Dame​-​des​-​Sept​-​Douleurs ALBUM REVIEW

Oh, wow.
Hi, everyone.
Please, any vote Tano here, the Internet's busiest music nerd,
and it's time for a review of the new Chloé Pelgag,
record Notre Dame de Sept [Am] Douleurs.
This is the third full-length LP from French-Canadian singer and songwriter Chloé Pelgag,
who came out of the gate strong in the 2010s with an extravagant,
versatile, and semi-progressive approach to art and Baroque pop.
It's [Abm] unfortunate that I am just now getting into her work because
there is a remarkably creative [Fm] consistency and vision to her handful of albums so [Bb] far.
Really the mark of an artist who understood herself before anyone else did.
And her gorgeously arranged songs are now reaching new heights on her latest LP.
The dramatic [Abm] writing and presentation on [N] this record has the maturity of Chanson's greats,
while also bringing the immediacy of an ornately produced indie pop record from the 2000s,
which is an aspect of Chloé's music I veer back and forth on.
Don't get me [Bb] wrong, there are tracks on this thing that come off [Abm] genuinely subversive and adventurous.
Like the track Remora, [Bb] the snappy, [Abm] curious groove that this song kicks off with [Am] is fantastic.
I'm loving the [Abm] attitude, the pep in its step.
Chloé's dynamic lead vocals pull off these melodies that are so full of character.
But I absolutely love when the instrumentation stops completely to start introducing
these booming _ synthesizers and chilling vocal harmonies.
Then there's a chaotic build of vocals and drums and horns.
It's such a dark and refreshing turn of events.
Huge, huge finish, too.
Then there's the track Umami, which undergoes a somewhat similar metamorphosis.
Despite how carefree the vocals and instrumentation sound, right down to the
oh, oh, oh, oh,
even the lyrics read as being packed with this playful, dreamlike imagery,
there's a moment on the back end of the song where the instrumental just shatters into this
starry, ethereal drone, where the vocal harmonies on the track suddenly turn into a
meditative refrain over these groaning [Bb] bass notes and distant crash cymbals.
So, yeah, while these tracks do make for a strong [E] start on this LP,
we then go deeper [Am] into the [Abm] string-kissed instrumentation and buried vocals on Alhambra de Cipres,
which is so unremarkable in how safe and average it is, from the beat to the chorus to the
really goofy vocal intro that doesn't play out that well.
Even the whistle harmonies at the very end of the song can't really save it.
Then, with the last full song on the record, La Maison Jaune,
Khloe tries to finish things off in a big way with the thickest wall of strings on the record,
the biggest wall of reverb on the record, which ends up leaving the vocals and the song itself
feeling like a washed-out afterthought.
The final 60 seconds is really the only striking thing about the song's four-minute runtime.
I had similar issues with the track La Fonte.
The shimmering, cinema-quality atmosphere surrounding Khloe's voice and her piano
are more stunning than the scant song itself,
though I did find the lyrics about being haunted by someone's memory to be really touching,
especially that moment of wordplay where she's saying,
I want you to stay a second or another second, stay for a second life.
Thankfully, the instrumentation's more colorful and the writing more robust on the rest of the LP.
There's Soleil with its stunningly theatrical combination of vocals and pit orchestra horns.
There's something so delicate but also very regal and firm about this track that I love.
The way the music sounds really fits with the clarity and emotional potency
of the memories being addressed in the lyrics, too.
It's simple but powerful, and I am completely in love with the melodies that Khloe is singing on this track, too.
Meanwhile, Fur [Ab] Elise provides a powerfully forlorn set of bold lead vocals,
harmonized reed melodies, and gently twanged guitars.
Then with Melamine, can I call this a creepy banger?
This thing is bold and bold and bold with its chilling synth leads,
its shouty, yelpy, in-your-face vocal harmonies.
This pounding drumbeat and vaguely proggy transitions in between each section.
It's like listening to Pink Floyd, Queen, and Kate Bush all at once,
but Frenchy and also as eccentric and wacky as possible.
The singing somehow gets nuttier and more unhinged as the track moves along,
and looking into the lyrics, it's pretty [G] clear Khloe is writing from the standpoint of a character.
Up next, Ovatukwon Tudur is easily the catchiest song on the back end of this [A] record.
There's a jaunty groove to it as well as sugar-sweet vocal melodies,
but these ideas are ingeniously [Abm] wrapped in instrumentation and aesthetics
that once again play it kind of dark and proggy.
There's even a smashing climax of drums, strings, and horns at the finish
that, if extended, could have been an even better finale for the record.
So while I don't think this record is perfect by any means,
there are tons of beautiful, creative highlights on every corner of this project,
and even though I'm now just getting into Khloe's work,
I'm hoping to hear her push things even further into the future.
I'm feeling a strong 7 to a light 8 on this one.
[N] Transition, have you given this album a listen?
Did you love it?
Did you hate it?
What would you rate it?
You're the best, you're the best.
What should I review next?
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_ Anthony Fantano, Khloe Pell gag, [N] forever.