French pop trio Feutre go for a smooth 80s poppy sound on their new album Les grands ensembles , combining the softer side of New Wave and jazz. Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Michaël Korchia is the sole band member who also played on the band's previous album Nos rencontres in 2021, but it is basically business as usual: stylish and melancholic songs about the passage of time. It seems like it was only yesterday that modernism was the next big thing, but now those buildings are being labelled as vintage architectural artefacts. Nice touch to film the video for the title track there.
New singer Elsa Leroyer brings a blend of baroque pop and yé-yé-tinged phrasing and guitarist Jérôme Excoffier holds back at first mostly, being content with giving an extra shine to the songs. When he makes himself heard - like he does in Adam and his fluid Tex-Mex showcase in Gold mine the trio comes close to indie rock and post-punk. The latter also has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Stranglers-inspired keyboards solo. With a running time of a little over 22 minutes a release on 33rpm 10" or 45rpm 12" vinyl would be most welcome.
