Melon Galia, Les Embarras du quotidian
Groovy lighthearted French folky pop. Sound is sometimes retro—like 70s pop. Really varied. An indie-pop sound with electric guitars, percussion, but with lots of fun instruments added to the mix. Lots of orchestral and/or acoustic stuff mixed in—piano, acoustic guitar, trumpets, strings, etc . . . and soft breathy indie vocals, one male, one female, all but one song in French. Lots of style/sound changes within songs, This CD makes me sooo happy. I like all songs.

*1. (3:24) midtempo, precious, windy, slide guitar twangy, with tinkly piano and acoustic guitar
2. (2:18) midtempo groovin, more normal indie-pop sound, with elec. guitars
3. (4:08) midtempo, shiny acoustic guitars and trumpets, cello, elec. Guitar, has many stages.
*4. (5:16) slower, a bit slinky, trumpets, later strings. interesting syncopated rhythm
*5. (2:39) urgent—strummy acoustic guitar, brusque strings, lo-fi female vocals; second half is Spanishy trumpet fantasy
6. (4:44) dreamy minor-key guitars waltz, with trumpets, gets all electric-y towards end
*7. (1:13) lo-fi, female vocal in French, male counterpoint in English. sparse
8. (3:32) 70’s boppy trumpet/piano sound, then goes into more standard indie-pop
*9. (3:03) driven cheery tempo, boppy 70’s trumpets, strummy guitars, shakers
10. (3:28) driven yet mellow, vibraphones, strummy bell-like guitars, trumpets
*11. (5:07) slow waltz, orchestral, acoustic guitar, muted piano, intricate clarinet noodling
*12. (4:40) first half, pensive instrumental with cheesy over-loud drum machine. Then groovin’ guitar pop with trumpets, strings, and soft “na-na-na’s”

--reviewed by mandy (La Chanteuse)