type: albumreleased: 11th october 2010
label: kranky
genre: dream pop, ambient, singer/songwriter
For a decade Benoît Pioulard has been dilligently perfecting his take on ethereal, accidental pop, and though Lasted gives the impression that everything is natural in its place on the album as if it's always been there, it is in fact an act of careful precision. His real name is Thomas Meluch, and in addiction to this curious francophone contrivance he has taught himself guitar and drums, the most prominent instruments on this album. Lasted is anything but accidental.
Though he's been signed to Kranky for five years now, Pioulard still retains the sense of being a bedroom artist, the songs occupying intimate spaces in a generally lo-fi sound. His alluring baritone voice is recorded expertly, and sticks out on highlight RTO without sounding out of place or disrupting the overall feel. Songs like Tie also seem to fit in, the vocals and guitar resting just above the almost watery sounds in the background.
Through all the field recordings and hazy production, he strives for simplicity in his structures. Shouting Distance is upbeat and melodic, a great pop song. But the real charm of this collection is that it doesn't need to be simply a pop album to work, instead gently coaxing the listener into appreciating it not just for its catchy melodies but also for the warm ambient passages and delicate instrumental backing.
Not just through the shimmering interplay of guitar and drums, and the less decipherable background noises, but also the track lengths does Pioulard manage to play with our perceptions of time. The 40 minutes and 14 songs seem to pass by almost undetected in their introverted beauty, save a few precious moments when you chance upon a forceful drum beat or surprising guitar line, such as the gorgeous playing in Tack & Tower. However, even such moments as these seem to reverberate naturally into the spaces where they are played out.
The longest song is closer Nod, five minutes of a simple but rich drone filled with interference that draws a distinction and in doing so a connection between the digested sounds the come from Pioulard's head, and their ambient origins in the real world that mostly go unnoticed. It also allows the album to be brought back to its beginnings, recalling gauzy opener Purse Discusses.
This is an album to fill up the empty spaces in the day with a glorious hum, to soak up the background noises and turn them into something necessary. This is an album that will continue to resonate, ghostly and lush, long after it has been switched off.
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