Lescop - Lescop

French songwriter Mathieu Lescop taps perfectly into his country’s long-established art pop sensibility; he’s as equally adept at making slinky disco pop as insistent post-punk. And both these facets are expressed on this self-titled debut.

There’s an austere approach on show. Opener ‘La Foret’ and ‘Ljubljana’ are both built around sparse, insistent rhythms that allow Lescop to paint mysterious shapes over their sonic frameworks. Lescop has a desire to re-establish French art rock for the 21st century; singing in his own language is a crucial part of his plan.

But ‘Lescop’ is not an earnest, arty album; above all else, he has a passion to make people dance. A passion evident in the bubbling rhythms of ‘Hypnose’ and the sashaying pop of ‘Los Angeles.’ Sonically, there’s a nice degree of separation between instruments; the space allows the songs to flourish. As a coherent work, ‘Lescop’ is extremely successful at establishing a lucid sound.

The songs deal with rich and evocative themes and detail his obsession with specific cultural figures like the writings of Yukio Mishima and the films of Marlene Dietrich. The music has subtle dance influences imbued with a degree of melancholy best exemplified by the pared down ‘Slow Disco’. Final track, ‘Le Vent’ highlights Lescop’s ability to combine a bittersweet melody with an anthemic hook. It’s a glorious closer that points the way forward to a very promising future.