Slove - Le Dance

The name Julien Barthes may not be particularly well known in the UK but, in his native France, the DJ and producer has been making a career for himself for over ten years as a purveyor of wildly eclectic dance music and a prominent figure on the celebrated French electro scene.

‘Le Dance’ marks Barthes’ full-length debut, and Slove is a collaborative project between Barthes and Swedish guitarist Leo Hellden; however, the mix between the indie rock guitarist and French electronic specialist makes for an ultimately unsatisfying listen.

It is clear that Barthes is a gifted producer and ‘Le Dance’ does indeed have a very smooth and strident electro sound, but the song writing is mostly weak and characterized by repetitive rhythms and songs that drag interminably on in a locked groove.

The music is perfectly serviceable electro rock and both the title track and ‘The Brightest’ are good examples of dynamic electro funk full of builds and drops, but these promising instrumentals are blighted by some horribly sleazy whispered vocals and a severe lack of memorable hooks - you get the distinct impression that a lot of these songs would be better off left as instrumentals.

‘Le Dance‘ is at is best when the cast of collaborators and guest vocalists are allowed to bring their own personalities to the tracks and the atmospheric synth rock of ‘Flash’ with its mannered and poised female led vocal is particularly effective.

The contribution of Leo Hellden’s guitar feels especially underdeveloped here and almost is included as an afterthought. There is a confliction as the duo seem unsure as to whether they want to make a pure electronic dance record or an indie rock record with electro influences, in the end neither sound wins out and it all ends up rather aimless and strangely joyless.

It is always a difficult thing for a celebrated DJ and producer to make that jump to becoming a successful recording artist in their own right, and with Slove Julien Barthes has not quite made that leap. There is certainly potential and promise here, but unfortunately there are only fleeting glimpses.