Fabienne Delsol: Indigo Red
(Damaged Goods)
LP | CD | DL
Out now
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Fabienne Delsol returns with Indigo Red, a mix of originals and covers that span her blend of neo-psych-pop ye-ye. A more than welcome return after seven years.
It was Fabienne Delsol’s fourth album that turned us on to her hazy and lush neo-psych sounds, full of dreamy melodies that dripped over combinations of Farsifas, fuzz-drenched guitars, and wonderful jangles and chimes. On Indigo Red, she returns with the same themes in mind, but, as her songwriting, her collaborations, and overall confidence take a leap forward, she has released the album of her career so far.
Clear from the very outset, on She Is Gone, the song drifts over a muted bassline, tightly under control from songwriter Thomas Gardner, allowing Delsol and the rest of her band the freedom to glide. The final effect is a song that deserves to take centre stage here, one that, were she a bigger name, would be touted as the next Bond theme. The backwards guitar solo that comes in before the final chorus is the veritable cherry on this sweet delight. She returns to this vibe on If All The Things Were Never Said, but here, the combination of guitar licks and organ creates a truly hypnotic effect.
It is songs like these that sit neatly between the two more distinct sides: the urgency and the dream. Nowhere in the album is that more driving feel felt than on the excellent cover of Sharon Tandy’s Daughter Of The Sun. Denser and darker, Delsol’s vocals, filtered along with the guitar through a phaser, create a heady brew. It pays perfect homage to the original while finding a new home here. It is another cover that shows the flip side as she floats through her version of Goliath’s I Heard About A Friend. The verses mesmerise, gently unfolding until they tumble into the chorus. It is here that Delsol’s psych-pop vision truly bears fruit as she crafts a song to keep coming back around to. It is exactly this variation that makes the album her strongest yet, the subtle broadening of her influences that she has brought to the table resulting in an album that flits and dances between songs.
It is also in her choices of cover versions that more is revealed. Where songs by Goliath and Sharon Tandy, as well as here Count Five’s The Morning After, may lend themselves easily to her interpretation, the inclusion of I Have Known Love by Silver Apples is a shot from left field. The oscillating electronics are replaced with a walking bassline that tethers Delsol’s vocals somewhere still in the ether as she reaches back half a century. It is this that ties many of the songs together, helping create a hazy whole. I’m Leaving You has a more haunting feel to it as it slinks along, while her version of SRC’s Black Sheep brings a dash of prog to proceedings. As Fabienne and her band sign off with the soft whisper of Françoise Hardy’s Le Premier Bonheur du Jour, the circle is complete.
Since relocating from France to London more than twenty years ago, Fabienne Delsol has honed and perfected the psychedelic ye-ye sound that she does so well. The songs revel in their own history, a style that could have seen them released at any moment over the last sixty years. They are timeless in their approach and a delight to delve into.
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All words by Nathan Whittle. Find his Louder Than War archive here.
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