Album Review

Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light

• 18th May 2009

Electro threesome Au Revoir Simone’s third full-length effort is more of the same from the electro threesome, and why not? Their brand of dreamy synth pop has been garnering modest success since 2005’s Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation.

It’s all very pretty stuff, simple drum-machine beats and lush synth soundscapes that pulsate alluringly underneath the angelic vocals. Being as easy on the ears as Simone are can bring the flipside of lacking any stand-out moments, of becoming a sort of nondescript indie muzak, but that doesn’t happen here; aside from all the electro dreaminess, the Brooklyn three-piece have an ear for a good pop song: see the Peter Bjorn and John-esque “All or Nothing” and the brooding “Trace a Line”.

At the other end of the accessibility spectrum, “Only You can Make You Happy” is a worthwhile experiment with its extensive layered synth build-up culminating in a gorgeous acid-trip of vocal harmony and the hypnotic bassline that holds it all together.

It’s a pleasing collection of songs, a cohesive, ever-interesting record that bears testament to Au Revoir Simone’s gradually rising stock as purveyors of fine electronic pop.