Review Summary: If there’s one more EP you’re checking in 2021, make sure it’s this one.
If there’s one more EP you’re checking in 2021, make sure it’s this one.
Reasons?
Her voice! A joy! So versatile and full of emotion and with a convincing sense of urgency. Check
San Francisco for a vocal exercise that will most definitely leave you with an enormous grin and begging for more. Chansonnière and main mastermind behind this EP, Clara Malaterre is the owner of said voice, which is used to fantastic effect here: enormously melodic and very lively.
More reasons?
Amazing (and I mean: A-MA-ZING) guitar playing and sound! So lush and energetic. Check the aforementioned
San Francisco or album closer
Un dimanche Ã* Cushendun for the (instrumental) proof. The way Clara plays the high notes at the album’s conclusion, in a happy tumble of cascades, interacting with the accompanying mandolin creates a true party.
Even more reasons?
Flutes! Violoncello! Clarinet and bass clarinet! Most of these are used on the album’s only darker moment,
L'étang, which stands out even starker because of the surrounding moments of happiness. Those more upbeat tracks also use many different instruments, such as harmonica, and whistling. They are used sparingly yet effectively, and because they are incorporated so naturally you will probably not even realize how much is actually going on here. To top it all off, the bass has a lovely presence, and is mixed nicely upfront.
But the main reason has to be
Kreuzbergstraße. This simply is one of my favourite sweet songs of 2021. It effortlessly conveys an I-must-have-heard-this-song-before feeling of nostalgia, just because it works so well.
Don’t skip this wonderful little EP. It is a party that fits in the palm of your hand!
