L' Autre Bout du Monde

by John Schacht A handful of female French singers have made modest inroads in the States in recent years, including Francoiz Breut, Keren Ann (an Israeli based in Paris), Valérie Leulliot (ex-Autour de Lucie), and the Nouvelle Vague-series vocalists (Marina Celeste, Melanie Pain, et. al.). But their music is often informed by American traditions, sometimes blurring borders to the point that only the French language -- or a slight accent if they're singing in English, which many do -- offers any clue to their origins. That's emphatically not the case with Emily Loizeau's sparkling debut. What the French have dubbed "Le Nouvelle Scene" (The New Scene) has a roots music branch that celebrates the country's storied chanson tradition rather than turning to foreign trends, and Loizeau's record places her at the head of it. Though her lineage includes Françoise Hardy, Serge Gainsbourg, and other post-'60s artists who took cues from American jazz and pop but put a Gallic stamp on them, Loizeau's roots stretch back further, from national icons like folk poet George Brassen and Edith Piaf to Django Reinhardt. With her cabaret touches, unabashedly romantic subject matter, and clever wordplay, L'Autre Bout du Monde ("The Other Side of the World") is French by birth. This doesn't make Loizeau calcified retro by any means. She's armed with a playful and lilting voice, inventive chamber strings arrangements, and a superior sense of melody in either pop or traditional idioms. As a result, L'Autre Bout du Monde sounds timeless....