Sebastien Tellier
Sexuality
Lucky Number
By Eavvon O'Neal
The last thing I want to do is sound like I am jocking on anything and everything the French do because it's not like they exist on some higher plane when it comes to the understanding of the arts and their expression. On the flipside, I won't be quick to dismiss their upturned noses as more than a genetic defect, but for the sake of argument, toy with the idea that they are on some justifiably higher plane of elevation.
With this being my first foray into French pop's glossy underworld, Sebastien Tellier's Sexuality is as viscerally appealing as it is cleverly produced, and may just be the reason why I will no longer eagerly dump on the initiative styling of the European music scene as a whole.
Out of the gate, this record cleverly uses space to communicate its musical arrangement and development. With this musical feng shui, the accessibility quotient shoots way up, exhibited as such on album opener "Roche," which
begins with a low frequency idle before moving into a vivid electro swell, and the closer, "L'Amour et la Violence," which compliments the dynamic shift in musicality.
This album is made for almost every genre, and as bland as a generalization as that may seem, it's valid because the amount and scope of remixes seen in the wake of this record's release in mind-boggling. Rarely can music be aptly described as cinematic, but it's warranted here. Listen no further than "Kilometre" or "Look," which develop at a rate that feels eerily mature, and although there is a very cold, metallic feel to the synths that populate these tracks, it still comes off lustful and sensual.
There's an intimacy that comes off as sensual, like an extension of Tellier's sincerity that makes up for his lack of lyrical fortitude. This is what sells the album's tonality; sex with a stranger in a way which fully embraces the art of ice cold, titillated sensuality. It's a pop album in every sense of the word.
If it wasn't yet clear that Tellier set out to produce an album that is as vivid as it is suggestive, then the only other option left is to cancel your immediate plans. The final and maybe hugely important aspect of Sexuality is that sometimes you have to enjoy it by yourself before you try it out with others. A record that is filled with such suggestive grandeur isn't something to take lightly.
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