Benoit Pioulard
"Enge" 7"
Moodgadget Records
Genre: experimental pop, lo-fi
May 2006 |
The Enge single appears to be the first full-scale release for
Moodgadget's Benoit Pioulard, limited to 300 copies as opposed
to his usual 2-50 scale projects. After many years self-recording and
quietly putting out his microreleases, Pioulard seems to be
finally getting the recognition he deserves, with music appearing on
the Ghostly International, Astro Lab, and Moongadget labels. As well,
word on the street is that esteemed Chicago label Kranky intends to
put out his upcoming full-length, putting him among the ranks of
Windy & Carl, Pan American, and, yes, Godspeed You Black
Emperor!
Enge is a four track wonder of delicate, hand-woven
experimental pop. Spacey electronics and echoey, buried vocals thrive
under the delicate guitar strumming of Pioulard, who seems to
craft every song with meticulous detail and expertise. This can make
for ambient experimentation ("es/sa") or more melodic pseudo-pop ("sparrowfield,"
"pinconning"). Whatever it is, it's mysterious and beautiful, the work
of a songwriter tired of the same old familiar pop style. And for us,
well, we're all the better for it.
MP3s (from pioulard.com):
Kids Are Getting
Younger,
Sparrowfield
87%
Fun Fact: Pioulard's
Five Songs for Suchaya CD was limited to only 2 copies (one for
him and one for Suchaya, I guess)... how's that for rare?
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 4 tracks, distributed by
the label, released 2005] |
