Label: Disque Pointu
Released: 2nd April 2021
‘Paradigmes’ is an absolute whirlwind. It’s completely undiluted fun, from start to finish, swirling you in and out of the mystical universe of La Femme. Exploding into action with the brass-heavy, psychedelic ‘Paradigme’, the album maintains the high energy throughout. The result? A completely entrancing exercise in how to craft the most hypnotic electro-pop possible.
It’s completely electrifying and lifts you straight out of the four walls of your lockdown location to the high-speed, galaxy tinged world of the French band. Their tracks are imbued with such specificities of location that it’s hard not to become completely enveloped by it. From flashing, city lights at night to outer space, ‘Paradigmes’ is a journey – one you will no doubt want to be strapped in for.
The album takes a mesmerisingly Western-inspired turn midway – ‘Va’ and ‘Lâcher de chevaux’ are tantalising explorations of the genre that tug you along on their high-speed chase. It’s exhilarating and the sonic experimentation they lean into on the album absolutely soars. ‘Force & respect’ is another track that embraces the new – it epitomises the intensity of immersion that encompasses the album in its breakneck bouncing around of genres. In ‘Paradigmes’ delving into multiple different genres, it invents its own. It merges different sounds and experiences together to cement the territory that is strictly La Femme’s; no one else could quite craft such mesmeric sounds like them.
There is something so enchanting about the vocals, too. The spoken word that ushers in the haunting yet upbeat ‘Le sang de mon prochain’ gives way into intoxicatingly harmonic vocals. La Femme cast you under their spell, and it’s a strong spell indeed. Spinning through different visuals and dimensions, there’s no resisting that bewitching quality that La Femme have mastered.
