FEU ! CHATTERTON – LABYRINTHE
Artist: Feu ! Chatterton
Album: Labyrinthe
Label: Universal Music
Link:http://feuchatterton.fr/
Style: French chanson
Feu! Chatterton’s career path is fairly classic: three members of the band meet at school, their first songs are released on internet, they play support slots and win various awards. However, when you live in France, it seems unlikely that you haven’t heard one of their songs or heard about them in the media. This is due to the well-deserved success of their previous album, Palais d’Argile, released in 2021, which was of unusual magnitude. But such critical and public acclaim can also weigh on artists’ creativity. Perhaps this is why it took them four years to deliver their new studio album, Labyrinthe.
Feu! Chatterton’s music centers around Arthur Teboul’s lyrics and distinctive interpretation. His recognizable voice and phrasing invite comparison with the great names of French chanson. Instrumentation-wise, the band has taken a much more modern direction, with rock infiltrated by hints of psychedelia and, on this album more than on previous ones, electronic elements that sometimes take the lead. This emphasis is evident on the track ‘Labyrinthe’, which shares its name with the album. While this change may be disconcerting, it would be a shame not to continue the adventure offered by this record, which combines maturity and lyricism.
The vocals and their controlled flights of fancy are the band’s trademark. This is still the case here, with a clear and detailed mid-range. The accompaniment is subtle, laying down a heady carpet for Arthur Teboul on ‘À Cause ou Grâce’, and, in general, the balance between electronic sounds and the pop/rock approach is joyfully successful. The production creates a stable and structured soundstage, the width of which varies depending on the track, adding interest to testing your system on this criterion. It is also pleasant to differentiate the timbres of the synthesizers and other drum machines from those of the acoustic instruments.