Musical Remedial Guide | Alexandre Vigneault’s list

After (another) year rich in musical love at first sight, here are the songs that have passed the test of time in the headphones of our journalists.

Ali Hala Abadaby Old Farka Touré and Khruangbin

You don’t have to know Ali Farka Touré’s repertoire to take pleasure in this music rooted in Mali, taken up by his virtuoso son and propelled by the soul, funk and frosty dub impulses of the Texan trio Khruangbin. We just have to let ourselves be carried away by the ultra-cool bass and these atmospheres sprinkled with psychedelia while tasting the guitar which raises the dust in a sizzling full of echo that many musicians of the Sahara prize. This musical dialogue is simply bewitching.

Anti-heroby Taylor Swift

We know that Taylor Swift dominates pop from very high, which the success of her album Midnights and the madness surrounding the sale of his concert tickets confirmed again this fall. Anti-herothe flagship song from her recent album, shows why: she has a sense of the musical catchphrase, a flow amazing and an extraordinary suppleness in the voice. Taylor Swift also has another rare asset: she does not open her mouth to sing banalities. His pop makes sense and borders on perfection.

Close to the aspensby Richard Seguin

Links places, Richard Séguin’s most recent record, may be uneven, but it sometimes touches on grace. Like on Close to the aspens, a collage of memories of his mother, which he carries in a soft, almost fragile voice, on a guitar of infinite delicacy. Séguin finds immense power in this simplicity which culminates in the chorus. The craftsman here reaches a pinnacle of purity, and it is arm-raising beauty.

Fungal Cityby Björk

Fossora, released this fall, does not come with an instruction manual. Björk invites us to follow her with eyes closed in universes that unfold in an unknown space, between contemporary chamber music, melodic pointillism and techno reminiscences. We savor his disc in small doses and marvel at the piece. Fungal Citywhere the winds and the strings mingle in a lyricism as exciting as disconcerting, is one of the most brilliant nuggets of this album like no other.

José Louis & the Paradox of Loveby Pierre Kwenders

Congolese-born Montreal author, composer and DJ Pierre Kwenders won the Polaris Prize for best Canadian album of the year in September with José Louis & the Paradox of Love. He didn’t steal it. His album mixes with a communicative address his African roots (offbeat coupé, Congolese rumba, etc.) with house, rap and pop. Rather than opting for a clash of styles, it offers fades that are smooth and slip easily into the ears.

What Of Your Eyes, by Melody Gardot and Philippe Powell

The piano of Philippe Powell (the son of the legendary Baden Powell) is the only accompaniment instrument on this sixth studio album by the singer in dark glasses. Between these two, the current passes, the music flows and elegance dominates. The poems of one and the other combine with fluidity, even in the most economical moments. Between them two does not go off the beaten track. It extends a little more, on the other hand, the universe of Melody Gardot with the good taste that we know from him.