Album review : Marie-Pierre Arthur - Aux Alentours

She has played bass with some of the biggest exports of Quebec in the mid-2000's and collaborated with Buck 65. Yet, rural Gaspésie native Marie-Pierre Arthur is not a household name. After releasing her first album in 2009, she did obtain critical success and enjoyed some radio airplay. 

Marie-Pierre Arthur showed amazing skills when it came to writing catchy and orchestral folk-rock songs but it was not enough to keep me hooked. That first effort lacked intensity when she drifted towards acoustic numbers. Some things were undeniable : Arthur grooved like no one else when she grabbed her Hofner bass and she is one of the rare francophone songwriters to display warmth either on stage or in her recordings. « Aux Alentours », her sophomore album, is one of the biggest Franco-Canadian releases to come out this season.

Marie-Pierre Arthur turned up the volume, enhanced her musicality, put most melancholy aside and reinvented her universe. « Aux Alentours » showcases personal thoughts, vintage atmospheres and rock arrangements in the form of ten catchy songs. Intense and powerful rocker « Fil de soie » is destabilising as the songwriter's flair for great melodies is put up front. This feeling lasts throughout the album. The dynamics are near perfect, there are no detours and the choruses are memorable.

The maturity of the hard-hitting musical landscape gives all the songs a reason to stand-out. The energy of drummer Robbie Kuster (Patrick Watson), the ease of guitarist Oliver Langevin (Galaxie) and the depth of keyboardist and producer François Lafontaine (Karkwa) might give « Aux Alentours » a Montreal esthetic even if this is a good thing. Marie-Pierre Arthur swims throughout soul and gospel influences while writing George Harrison-esque songs.

« Aux Alentours » is an impressive work. While she admits her love of the Fab 4, she does not forget her indie rock instincts and avoids useless nostalgia. Now contagious and confident, the second strike is the good one for Marie-Pierre Arthur.

Posted by JE on Nxew.ca 3 Feb 2012