Published on Feb 15, 2000
So what do Ren and Stimpy, the Ronettes and the
X-Files theme song have in common? Well, at one point or
another April March, aka, Elinor Blake, lent her talents to those
ventures as a song writer and vocalist. She also fronted a band
called the Pussywillows. Her latest endeavor is an album influenced
by the French pop music sound of the early sixties. This music,
known as Yé Yé, has a schmaltzy lounge sound that has
you conjuring up visions of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn traipsing
through Paris in springtime.
My first listen to
Chrominance Decoder was a bit of a shock. This music was
steeped in a tradition I’d not been exposed to and I wasn’t sure
how to respond to it. To my untrained ears, the opening song,
“Garden Of April”, sounded like a childs nursery rhyme without the
benefit of lyrics. Or maybe this was a soundtrack for a trip
through La La Land. I gave the disc an obligatory listen, then put
it aside in order to purify my cd player with something less “out
there”.
I find that like all good reds, an album needs time to breath in
order to be really enjoyed. What may be bitter to swallow at first
mellows out and becomes quite palatable in time. And how does an
album breathe? Simply by planting a few stains in your head and
allowing your brain to do the rest.
And so it was with
Chrominance Decoder. I could not put melodies like
“Garçon Glaçon/Nothing New” out of my head. Nor could
I dislodge the eerie lyrics to “Sugar”. I even found myself
warbling the nonsense syllables to that ear candy “Garden Of
April”. I gave the disc another spin in order to savor it without
my initial prejudice. I was rewarded with the clever nuances in
Bertrand Burgalat’s sparse yet expansive production and the
juxtaposition of March’s sometimes sinister and pessimistic lyrics
with his happy Yé Yé sound.
March’s voice seems to have been transplanted from another world
in the lovely “Mickey Et Chantal” and the dreamy “Maritine”. Her
voice floats down on you like eider down. Then there’s the jazzy
“Charlatan” where her smooth breathy performance reminds me of very
contented purring cat. Even in bitingly, sarcastic songs like
“Ideal Standard” and “No Parachute,” her vocals float through the
arrangements like clouds.
March’s vocal innocence and Burgalat’s sharp nouveau Yé
Yé production are excellent contrasts for lyrical content
which is cynical, eerie and sometimes quite disturbing. In the cut
,”Sugar”, March sings about being lured into the forest by a man
whose “nails were not clean” and his “eyes were like cherries and
[his] skin was like clay/ [his] hair was like jelly and it
gleamed”. With a chorus like “You took my sugar and left me tears”,
we’re left to wonder what depraved incident occurred with this ogre
amidst the trees.
“No Parachute” almost sounds like a taunt with these lyrics
“She’s got you in a harness/But not the practical kind/….She’s
gonna drop you/It’ll be cute/No parachute”. There is also a French
version of this song on the album and it is one of eight songs sung
in the language. March is an American but writes songs in both
French and English. This distresses me only because my French is
minimal at best and I’m dying to know what she’s singing about! And
shame on the powers that be for not including the lyrics in the
inserts.
The Dust Brothers supply two remixes to the album, placing a
layer of modern grooves over the retro sound of “Sugar” and
“Nothing New”.
This disc takes a little getting used to if you’re submerged in
today’s alterna-rap culture. There was once a time in popular music
when innocence was a commodity, when leisure and romance were the
ideals. The period was brief. March and Bergalat have offered us a
glimpse with
Chrominance Decoder. So mix yourself a mint julep, throw
this disc on and settle down comfortably in your chaise lounge.
You’ll be taken to a bygone era with a tether still connected to
the present….Bon Voyage!