With each album,
La Femme's musical horizons have widened significantly -- an impressive feat, considering that their 2013 debut album,
Psycho Tropical Berlin, already blended Krautrock, surf, coldwave, psychedelic rock, and yé-yé. Though it seemed the collective stretched their music to its limits on 2016's dark, sprawling
Mystère, they discover plenty of new territory on
Paradigmes. It's true that there are more than a few songs that could be called quintessential
La Femme. The slinky, elegant electro-pop workouts "Divine Creature" and "Nouvelle Orleans," the motorik of "Mon Ami," and the eerie exotica of "Va" are all indeed paradigms of the group's music. More often, though,
La Femme take their listeners on a style-hopping journey. In its first few songs alone,
Paradigmes ranges from the silvery processed vocals and wailing brass of the title track, which feels like a number from a retro sci-fi musical, to the rainy French pop ballad "Le sang de mon prochain" to the
Plastic Bertrand-meets-
Devo blast of "Foutre le bordel." The group get even wilder on "Lacher de chevaux," which sounds like the logical conclusion of a collaboration between
Ennio Morricone and the
BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
La Femme's travels on
Paradigmes also take them to the U.S. "Cool Colorado" is a laid-back homage that drifts along like a puff of pot smoke, and hearing about cowboys and Sweet Georgia Brown in a thick French accent over groovy brass and tambourines goes a long way toward making them seem cool again. As always,
La Femme have more than enough style and atmosphere to appeal to non-Francophones, though
Paradigmes features their first song in English: Under its bubbly electronics, "Foreigner" has an undercurrent of alienation that can come from being in a strange land or feeling like a stranger to someone who used to be dear. It's somewhat remarkable that a band this individualistic is scoring Top Ten hits and opening for
Red Hot Chili Peppers in their homeland, but
La Femme's passion for seeking out new (or vintage) sounds to add to their omnivorous pop is contagious, and never more so than on
Paradigmes. ~ Heather Phares