Pandemonium, Solace and Stars

Description

Unlike the name she has chosen, Laetitia Shériff is not the type to uphold the law. In fact, she is more likely to be one of those who transgress it with delight, as evidenced by the list of her past collaborators, all vandals of musical orthodoxy (the immense jazz saxophonist François Jeanneau, punk diva Lydia Lunch, electronic music producer Robert Le Magnifique, experimentalist Noël Akchoté, and polymorphic guitarist Olivier Mellano). Her new album, "Pandemonium Solace and Stars," is thus a small marvel of luminous rage and fertile despair, allowing her to walk in the footsteps of illustrious predecessors like Scott Walker, Neil Young, or Nick Cave. Of course, in her personal record collection, one can imagine that albums by Sonic Youth, Dominique A, or The Breeders also hold a special place. She shares their obsessions, in any case. And the art of the sneaky melody. Whether she grabs you by the collar and spits her "Wash" in your face or moves you with the intensity of her "A Beautiful Rage II," Shériff always stirs you from within. Because in the grain of her voice, in the sound of this balancing act of an album, you can feel that she doesn't cheat. That she can't. And that's why we adore her.