You can’t judge an album by its cover. So the beard scratchers say and, if you were to actually do so, then “Après La Pluie” by French synth pop trio Vacance would be the cutest album ever. After all, no death metal band or urban rapper would put a picture of a kitten on their musical masterwork yet Vacance have done just that.
Kitten aside, these ten songs are examples of synth pop in its purest form with all of their sounds echoing the analogue loops of those long gone days when the charts were overrun with style. Style is always present too – I am beginning to think that France is full of fields where style is grown for distribution to all that live there – and, whilst their chosen musical genre is frequently associated with more downbeat sentiments, Vacance throw their melancholy into the melody pot and cook up an almost laconic reinvention of all that made French pop music so appealing back in the day and serve it up with the kind of verve that only people who wear sunglasses even when indoors can ever possess.
If your musical tastes stretch to stylish female fronted synth pop then Vacance have made an album that will make you happy and, if you just like kittens, the album cover will be enough to justify a purchase.
Available on compact disc from Bandcamp and from the usual digital places.