by Scott Yohe
En Attendant Ana has graced us with their newest album Principia at perhaps the best time. As spring settles in and the weather changes, Principia becomes the perfect soundtrack. The group has two previous albums before this but Principia feels as if it's their defining moment. With the addition of a new member, the group becomes a quintet that oozes a French coolness, a sense of comfort, and is able to create an atmosphere so pleasant that it is nearly impossible to resist. Principia has many influences, such as groups like Stereolab or Beach House, and genres like krautrock or early French pop music. It wears those influences proudly and yet is entirely its own thing. In the grand scheme of Indie-pop, you will be hard-pressed to find something as pleasurable and equally as engaging as Principia. It is truly a treasure trove of music with something new to discover upon each repeat listen.
Right from the start we are introduced to just how mature of a band En Attendant Ana has become. Straight from the title track, we hear vocalist Margaux Bouchaudon’s lyrics asking questions about what we see outside and noticing those that we will probably never know yet are connected to on some sort of human level. We are treated to even more emotional lyrics on “Ada, Mary, Diane” where Bouchaudon sings about “the monster you see is the monster I make,” which when heard at different times can evoke many different feelings. Perhaps that is what ties all the lyrics together on Principia, the fact that they can evoke different emotions depending on the mood of the listener. They can be bent in different ways to reflect what we need. Take the end of “To the Crush” for example where the motif of being a ball and chain can either be seen as positive or negative. The imagery on the song “The Cut Off” is absolutely amazing. The idea of experiencing a broken heart and feeling phantom limb syndrome is a fantastic example of the genius of Principia. The reflections of being “a good human being/my mama said/I hope she’s right” is so wonderful that it seems impossible not to feel anything.
The instrumentation on Principia also show a lot of growth from their previous efforts. Everything is allowed to breathe and be its own thing. Often times things chug along at a pace to match the vocals, laying snuggly underneath the fantastic vocal performance. The guitar weaves seamlessly through every song, the bass bounces perfectly along. The percussion holds everything together with driving beats that always complement the song. This is all elevated by the multi-instrumentalist, Camille Frechou, who adds either saxophone or trumpet or both. All of this is incredibly pleasant to the ear while being consistently interesting. Nothing outshines anything else on Principia, it is a complete band effort where everyone plays to each other's strengths.
The main thing about the record is that it fits every type of mood or activity. It is truly a versatile record. Take a walk with it, drink a cup of coffee or tea with it, draw with it, cry with it, laugh with it, do whatever you want with it, just make sure that you listen to it. Principia is the effort of a great band that has only gotten better as time has gone on. En Attendant Ana has made a record of such immense pleasure that to ignore it would be doing yourself, and the band a disservice. So get in whatever mood you want and listen to Principia.