Love Triangles, Niches, and Angèle
Single Review ★ Nash Jones ★ @nashwritessometimes★ 2 Minutes
French pop artist Angèle has just released her new single, an electronic bilingual earworm, featuring pop artist Caroline Polachek and DJ/ producer SebastiAn. The promotional single follows a salacious story of the two vocalist’s characters admitting their attraction to each other via a third person, each proposing they join the other for the night. Forbidden attraction is a tale as old as time, but the three artists have created a contemporary anthem out of it.
left image via Manuel Obadia-Wills, right image via InstagramAn intro of buzzy synth and eclectic percussion transitions into a bass-heavy beat, allowing space for the vocals and narrative to shine. The verses are spoken word, rhythmic and breathy. “See me everywhere, every night/ I met your girl in that bar,” Angèle remarks, before continuing in French. “Elle pense à moi quand she m’manque/ Et je passe comme un semi-dieu,” or “She thinks about me when she misses me/ I pass by like a demigod.”
Caroline Polachek enters similarly in her verse, admitting, “So, remember I mentioned that blonde?/ C’est vrai qu’on a eu une histoire” or “It’s true, we have a history”. She goes on to encourage her lover, “Et c’est mon anniversaire, baby”, “It’s my birthday, baby”.
The vocal and musical choices of the prechorus both serve to amp up the intensity. A dissonant harmony takes place as Angèle proclaims, “Vous me faisiez quand tous les deux,” “Both of you were doing it to me.” Meanwhile, the beat drones while emerging to take center stage with crunchy trills between lines. The production choices are somewhat evocative of Rina Sawayama’s debut album, which is a highly-acclaimed delve into pop music and its intricacies.
Their voices melt into one another at the chorus as the kick drum hits hard.“No, I’m not asking for forever, but I can’t let it go/ Nothing freaks me out like a love triangle/ Somebody’s heart is gonna break and baby, that’s how it goes”. They recognize the potential danger, and decide that they want it anyway- that they have to.
Polachek is well-known for her vocal flips, and post-chorus, the two of them go back and forth with vocalizations before the outro.
Two acclaimed writers and vocalists in their respective niches, Angèle and Polochek come together to make a highly-compelling track. The push and pull of the chords and dynamics of the electronic elements are the cherry on top of this treat of a song.
Instinct, the upcoming album from Angèle, is out October 16th.
