Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana return with Principia (out via Trouble In Mind), their third album and what feels like a major turning point for their music. While Juillet was loaded with fuzzy pop hooks and dazzling melodies, the band have pushed further this time around, still oozing pop charm at every turn, but expanding further into their left-field inclinations. With a pair of members that had joined just prior to and shortly after the release of Juillet, it would seem the quintet has become tightly glued together throughout Principia, working as a band with kinetic energy to bring Margaux Bouchaudon’s songs to life in vivid detail. Everyone plays their part, shinning in equal measure throughout a record that’s carefully constructed in favor of sonic clarity, pulling back elements to introduce others, careful to keep the ever-present swoon perpetually un-muddied. The sound is as much jazzy and intricate French pop as it is melancholic power-pop. A dynamic sense of melody is paired with a surging rhythm section that shifts between motorik and boss nova beats.
Principia is a record themed on the fundamental principles of being a human in modern times, and the perceptions we face both outward and inward. Bouchaudon’s lyrics deal with societal collapse, constant consumerism, gendered expectations, and the need for escape. She tackles heavy subjects with a light approach, careful to avoid the feelings of doom and gloom, but conscious enough to acknowledge its unfortunate presence.
En Attendant Ana have always taken a unique approach to fuzzy indie pop, writing songs that don’t always feel immediate but really gel themselves into your memory with repeat listens. It’s subtle and stunning songwriting in a genre where subtly is scarce. Lead single and title track “Principia” the album’s perfect introduction, a steady progress of their unwavering pop charms. Led by Bouchaudon’s dreamy vocal melody and an innocent jangle, the song is at times reminiscent of both The Cardigans, and Alvvays, coloring in the accents with echoing guitar scrapes and soaring hooks. They’ve been acing those songs since their inception, but it’s really only one side of the record’s multifaceted story though.
Much of Pricipia’s magic lies in the krautpop sprawl of tracks like “Ada, Mary, Diane,” “Same Old Story,” and to an extent “Wonder,” songs that augment the band’s usual dream pop bliss a boost of silky energy, hinging itself upon the jazzy lounge and noise pop of bands like Electrelane, Stereolab, and Antena. En Attendant Ana do their influences proud, reshaping the sophisticated and hypnotic sound by adding their own distinct feel to it, slightly fuzzy but completely locked in. Camille Frechou’s sax and trumpet skronk is resonant and resilient, coloring the songs just beneath the layers. The band dive right into the motorik charm with a slinking rhythmic backbone and guitars that oscillate between bent chords and scraping noise. They’ve learned to embrace detail as much as they have repetition, swirling between psych pop past and futuristic sound. - DG