The new album from French band En Attendant Ana, Juillet, knocked me out on first listen. While some of what's here will feel very familiar to anyone who's ever picked up and played a Broadcast or Stereolab record, for example, the music of this group is so wonderfully tuneful and inventive that comparisons are ultimately unnecessary. This long-player, out on Friday via the reliable Trouble in Mind label, is the rarest sort of release that seems to exceed (in some ways) the very music that inspired it.
"Down the Hill" finds singer and lyricist Margaux Bouchaudon cooing over a rattling post-punk riff, while the more obvious "Do You Understand?" touches on territory lots of us will recognize, even as the rave-ups throughout the song give this a good deal of energy. "Somewhere and Somehow" sounds, to these ears, very close to something from Broadcast or Stereolab at early points in their respective careers, even as "In / Out" goes back further still, with echoes of pioneers from the C86 era showing up in the guitar riffs here. All of Juillet is just like the tunes I've highlighted above, but, at times En Attendant Ana take some real chances, and steer things into directions that feel more unique. "Enter My Body (Lilith)" is churning art-rock with real melodic heft, for instance, even as "When It Burns" modulates the rush on this record enough that the band seem capable of tackling borderline jazz forms.
I went into this one not knowing much about En Attendant Ana and came away loving this record. It's the sort of thing that will click for listeners with certain predilections, and it will click in an instant way. The hooks are big here, and they're also ones that feel remarkably easy to get caught up in. Juillet is so listenable that it's hard not to rave about it.
Juillet is out on Friday via Trouble in Mind Records.
More details on En Attendant Ana via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Chloe Lecarpentier]