Françoise
Hardy: Parenthèses
(Internationally Known/EMI)
Legendary chanteuse Françoise Hardy’s new album, Parenthèses,
is interesting for what it’s not. While contemporaries like Loretta
Lynn, Candi Staton, and Marianne Faithfull have garnered attention for
collaborating with well-regarded younger musicians, Hardy here does what
she always does: sing smoky, quiet ballads in French, alongside people
like Alan Delon and Julio Iglesias. The closest she comes to a Portland,
Oregon moment is on “My Beautiful Demon,” the only track in
English, which features songwriter Ben Christophers (whoever that is)
on vocals, and sounds like an Evanesence song. Which is awesome, but still.
Her traditionalism is admirable, but, to ears trained on modern music,
unproductive; for every great loungey track like the Serge Gainsbourg-esque
“Modern Style,” the one with Delon, there’s an offensive
lite-jazz track like “Le Fou de la Reine.” There are many
lovely moments here, but they’re scattered among too many obvious
moves.
By Michael Barthel
7/2007