Malajube – Labyrinthes
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With the release of their second album, Labyrinthes, our favorite francophiles, Malajube, were poised to hit the United States running full steam ahead. The question everyone wanted answered was whether or not they would convert from their first language to a more commercial language, one that would surely break them into the independent scene in the neighboring country. The answer, dear reader, is an emphatic “no!”
They open the album with the epic “Ursuline,” which has a certain sense of urgency once the songs gets going, but just as you expect the band to push over the top and rush through the song, they scale the entire number back, slowly leading you towards the outro of the song. It’s a statement the listener must respect, as the band has the capabilities to lead you wherever they wish.
Still present this time round is the organic sound. Usage of gang vocals, both brash and soothing go in and out of the record. Pianos, guitars, drums and extemporaneous instruments/sounds are also used indiscriminately. It’s a sound that one has come to expect from our northerly neighbors, as they seem to rely a lot on the soundscapes of fellow Canadians, Broken Social Scene. This time around, the band sounds a lot warmer than on Trompe L’oeil.
Yet, through it all, the band sound just like something you would listen to on something like KEXP. The guitars are driving, providing the pace of the record, but the band can pull that sound away from you immediately, resting, instead, on atmospheric “oohs” and “ahhs.” Clever combinations of sound come within each song, which is precisely why this band garners the interests of fans today.
And you’ll come across songs such as “Heresie,” which will win you over in a short span of time. In fact, the coupling of the aforementioned song with “Dragon de glace” is probably one of the more special moments you find on the album. It’s a mellower Malajube than the one presented on the earlier part of the album. It’s a pleasure to come across a band that puts out an album where to layout of the songs on the album shows a strong thought process, as if they wanted you to listen to the album all the way to the end.
But, the one detractor, as alluded to earlier on, is the fact that the band, while respectable, maintain their allegiance to their native tongue. It’s not that the vocal element is not appealing, as one can take a certain emotive quality away from the songs, but its the lack of a connection between the band and most listeners. Musically, the band can take you many places, but a lot of people will want to connect with the lyrical content, and that is simply not possible for people versed in English. It’s the one miss on this album, though for many, it’s a pretty big miss.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/06-les-collemboles.mp3]Download: Malajube – Les Collemboles [MP3]
the band makes music for themselves first and foremost. anyone should at least appreciate that. the wish that any band can just switch to another language is as arrogant as asking Radiohead to change their sound because someone doesn’t understand it.
who said they wanted to pander to “most listeners”, anyway? they’re doing what they do best.
I don’t think that the band is trying to make music simply for themselves, as what band is completely indifferent to the people that listen to them?
But, I’m not condemning them for not switching to English. I just think that for a large majority of listeners, it will be hard to connect with the lyrical content, as many listeners might not be versed in French.
Uhm, I’m wondering how you think French-Canadians would feel if they couldn’t lyrically connect to one of the best bands coming out of here for a little while.
When I was younger I usually had a hard time understanding songs in English – then I read the lyrics.
Besides, the lyrics are hard to understand in this album, even for native francophones.
So is Sigur Ros wrong in singing in Icelandic?
I’m not sure how French-Canadians would truly feel, though I expect it would be similar to my own feelings, as in they would appreciate it all, but they just wouldn’t be entirely sold on the whole album. I just figure, after reading all the interviews and press for this album, that the band had something to say, and not knowing French, I cannot relate. But, I still enjoyed the album as a whole; I just had this drawback.
That being said, I openly dislike Sigur Ros. Their lyrics are not even meant to espouse meaning, rather used as an instrument. I didn’t get the impression Malajube was chasing a similar style.
Around here, it’s taken to be very artificial (and somewhat of a ‘treason’, but that’s a bit of a strong word) when francophones take up English as the language of choice for lyrics solely for commercial purposes. People like Rufus Wainright are anglophone in the first place, so horray for him. But you can’t really write convincing lyrics in a language you don’t master.
Also the lyrics are fairly straightforward on this album (as in Trompe-l’oeil as well). They are quite surreal though.
It is perfectly legitimate to say that YOU did not connect with the album because it’s in French. Very understandable. Words become much more powerful if they are rich and beautiful, not just used as a musical layer or instrument.
But it is RIDICULOUS of you to say that Malajube should sing in English. This is not a matter of “allegiance” to their native tongue or the province of Québec… they’ve often said that they don’t care about sovereingty and their lyrics are not politically-inclined at all. Besides, many people and music critics actually find it cool that Malajube sings in French! And maybe the band doesn’t care about “tapping into” a larger, English market, especially if their English lyrics sucked… The singer doesn’t feel it in English, so why force it ???
I’ll tell you one thing though: it is a privilege to understand the lyrics on Labyrinthes. They go from simple to dreamy, to morbid to magic carpet rides. Really beautiful words 🙂
Even as a monolingual American I’m inclined to agree the idea of Malajube switching to English is pretty cynical and nonsensical (especially given that they’ve been quite successful singing in French, thank you very much). Not to mention condescending. Labyrinthes is a beautiful album as Tromp l’oeil was before it. Concentrating on the fact that they sing in French, to me, is like obsessing over what brands of instruments they choose to play. Yes, the lyrics have meaning, deep and wide ranging and small and funny and surreal and expressive as art is meant to be. If you want to find that meaning you have to do a little work as a listener, albeit a bit of extra work if you don’t speak French. If the songs were in English, but the vocals were mixed way back or were otherwise unintelligable (early Stipe in REM? What the hell was Joe Cocker singing about for 40 years?) you might need to listen closer or go find the words. I don’t see this as different. I’ve used translation sites and tapped francophone friends (Woot! shout out to my favorite Quebecers) to help, but it’s part of the fun of being a Malajube fan. Heck, I’ve even learned a bit of passable French along the way. I have to use my brain. Their music is sooooooooooooo positively fabulous and delicious that it’s completely worthwhile.