When searching for an image to go with this light review, two words caught my eye - "too Vague?"
My sentiments as well.
Nouvelle Vague - New Wave or Bossa Nova translated in English and Portuguese respectively, questions how deep is your love in their thirteenth album that is eponymously named. Truly, you have to explore just how much you love them if you want to buy this album.
'A hypnotic opening' - 'a bravura opener' - is its strongest musical appeal. David Sheppard's devoted odes to each song is another winning feature of the album - his words melt into poetic romantizing that flows with the music.
The attraction of Nouvelle Vague, as always, lies in its intricate melodies achieved by 'stripping back arrangements to acoustic instruments'. It gets right down to the quiet souls that whisper to us from underneath the noise of the original songs - Nouvelle Vague specializes in covers. Hypnosis is close to describing the state one achieves when listening to the album.
And perhaps it is hypnosis that clouds your mind and beguiles you into hearing one similar voice, despite the album writing declaring that there are 8 different female vocals. The voices all blend together and sound like they originate from the same sound box, albeit in variations of tone and style. Perhaps it is these delicate differences that one must commit to listening out for, and wherein the allure of Nouvelle Vauge lies.
Individually, the songs do offer a poignant and refreshing take to the old tunes, such that the experience of this album is akin to a spiritual one. But I have never been one for spiritualization.
Too vague, indeed, for me.
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