Melodium
Palimpse

Halfway between the enchanted romanticism of Yann Tiersen and the poetic scenarios of Max Richter, "Palimpse" represents the thirteenth album in ten years for the prolific French artist Laurent Girard, otherwise known as Melodium. Acoustic miniatures, fragile melodies, ambient cadences; a sound so delicate as to be almost imperceptible: what strikes is precisely the simplicity in which these eleven sumptuous compositions with a strong folk matrix stagnate. 

Girard showcases a brilliant compositional streak by forging an intense and desolate work, where muffled sounds and barely hinted glitch complement the constant presence of the acoustic guitar, painting landscapes sometimes reassuring and peaceful, sometimes haunting and melancholic when sweetened by faded piano melodies and the delicate sound of a music box. A magic broken (and in a sharp way) only occasionally by the dark architectures of "Insomnia", a 30-minute track where Laurent expresses his most tragic and experimental side with the addition of funerary trumpets, dark drones, and orchestral elements.

A work I would dare to call "sedative", certainly excessively uniform but perfect in its few insights. Simplicity is the key.

[4.5]