Louis Arlette returns with Chrysalide, a new album in which he carries out a complete stylistic transformation.
“But I’m still not going to restrict myself” says Louis Arlette in “Lapis Lazuli”, the opening track of his new album. This introduction perfectly sums up the brand new form that the artist is taking. Formerly a pop singer fond of powerful vocal melodies, the artist decides here to adopt a phrasing closer to slam, with a strongly emphasized text, which the music accompanies.
Thus, he delights in aligning literary and mythological references, punctuating them with puns that the listener will have fun catching on the fly, whether it is “better Ishtar than ever” or “ Say, as Aeneas said to Dido. They even manage to escape the texts to reach the titles, like “Amsterdam in pain” or “Croque Odile”. Images and words swirl like never before, allowing Louis Arlette to take his listener into a lyrical and literate whirlwind. Freeing himself from usual structures, he mischievously deviates from the beaten track to venture into experimental wastelands. The artist’s nature has reasserted itself, after a fallow period deemed necessary.
Deploying his new formula through nine titles as abundant as they are concise, Louis Arlette makes his chrysalis crack. The result is disconcerting, both for its formal strangeness and its delusional content. An intriguing reinvention, which shows an artist in a new light. A new mode of expression that leaves you dreaming about the future.
Find this column on Louis Arlette in WECB l’Hebdo n°145, available via our online store.
Chrysalis is available
Here is the tracklist and cover:
- Lapis lazuli
- Gorgeous
- Say, Aeneas
- Babylon + Calimero Calories
- Sardanapalus
- Samsung Enraged
- Croque Odile
- Amsterdam in trouble
- The Cockroach and the sashimi
