One of Alexandre Désilets’ greatest assets is his sense of melody. On Happy people – a record not always as happy as its title – it is generous in beautiful, comforting and dancing musical phrases. He does not sulk his pleasure by drawing inspiration as much from bossa nova as from disco, flamenco or soul, which he melts in his catchy and neat pop.
His pen is also very agile: full of fine images, punctuated by discreet puns and alliterations, which know how to speak of love. Here again, he avoids the easy. It evokes techno loves (Viva the avatar), difficult passages (Put down your suitcase) and domestic violence (Wolf are you there ?), while others are limited to the first sparks and embers about to go out.
Nothing sticks out on this record, it’s so perfect. And if all this testifies to his skill, one wonders if this is not also the reason why this catchy and rich disc does not manage to pass on the side of the emotion. It’s beautiful, but smooth, and sometimes too sweet to really touch. Happy people risk leaving cold those for whom the songs pass first by the heart, but will surely satisfy the esthetes, who will find in this pop of pomp a way to play with appearances.
Pop
Happy people
Alexandre Desilets
Shoemaking discs