We thought Bobby Bazini was forever committed to the path of well-made soul-pop, but too smooth to really surprise. But the Quebec singer-songwriter proves with this fifth album that it is never too late to really renew yourself while respecting your essence.
From the first listen to the first song, Pearl, which is also the title of the album, surprise! We feel that something beautiful, current and surprising is going to happen. With its evanescent drum intro, string wrap and harp touches, throbbing backing vocals, light keyboard floor and the singer’s sweet voice exploding at times, Pearl’s atmosphere is open and bright and perfectly heralds a suite… which does not disappoint for a second. It’s clear, the singer took risks, gave himself freedom and space and surrounded himself with the right people to do so.
Some reviews already published evoke Michael Kiwanuka and it is true that the background groove of these 11 tracks recalls the magic touch of the British singer. But between gospel and samba (oh the melancholic beauty of Ojalá), soul and folk (oh the depth of Forever Had to End, written with Chris Stapelton), Bobby Bazini delivers an album with a sound all his own and coherent from start to finish, and which certainly benefited from the contribution and attentive ear of Montreal director Connor Seidel (Charlotte Cardin, Les Sœurs Boulay).
The rest of the team matches the talent: keyboardist Conner Molander (Half Moon Run), drummer Robbie Kuster (Patrick Watson), harpist Eveline Grégoire-Rousseau (Barr Brothers), flutist and saxophonist Félix Petit (Les Louanges) and Antoine Gratton on string arrangements. They add their stamp as needed and with delicacy in each piece, which is all as solid as each other – frankly, there is not a single one here that comes to spoil the whole.
We come out of this album which speaks of new beginnings, of love and of human nature with in mind the joyful flute flights of Take It Out On Me and the desire to see life on the bright side. And Bobby Bazini’s voice, still as rich, gently gravelly and more nuanced than ever – his performance in the breaks in tone of the song Waterfallin’, for example, is mind-blowing – will accompany us perfectly in the (already) nostalgia for the end of the summer.
