Lemaitre - 1749


Lemaitre
1749
2016
Spotify

Something really interesting is happening in Northern Europe. The House and electropop coming out of those countries is taking on a new and interesting shape, siding more in the indie genre then the usual big room stuff that permeates pop today. I stumbled upon Lemaitre while listening to a Coachella playlist and was instantly transfixed. It is modern sounding but still with a nod to the past. The sound on 1749 is just clean and classic using flourishes as exclamation points rather than the crux of the song. The record has one foot in the house music scene and other in the electropop. The blend is not new, but in the hands of Lemaitre it is bright and vibrant. The moments on this album are better than it is as a whole, giving you a glimpse at the potential here that may not yet be realized. There are twinges of RJD2 and Gramatik but this music has a much stronger pop appeal despite it's indie nature.  "Not to Late" the opener, really sets the tone with big electronic sounds but a little synth ditty being played underneath. The next track "Stepping Stone" is probably the weaker of the EP. It feels a bit generic and is almost Porter Robinson-esque. There is certainly nothing wrong with Porter, but this is not him and doesn't quite reach his level of taking those incredible sounds and turning them into a song.

Then there is the shift. The point where the album becomes more than you really thought it would be. "Closer" featuring Jennie A. is simply an incredible song. It is big and bold with horns and electronic drops that are next level kind of stuff. There is so much going on in this song and Lemaitre knows it because they keep building layer after layer in the 4:30 minute epic. It really is not only the highlight of this album but the highlight of a lot of the things I have heard this year. The next track, "Day Two" is the most pop on the record and also one of the most forgettable. It is a perfectly fine song, but as a landing after "Closer" it just does not really measure up. The final track is "Nishio 2" featuring the producer Giraffage is another really fun dance track. The little kid-esque vocals give the song a lightness that just gets you loose and ready for anything. This is a really fun record and shows that this is only the beginning for Lemaitre. I'm looking forward to listening to "Closer" about 200 more times then eagerly anticipating what comes next from them.

8.0 out of 10

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