For fans of Electrelane, Stereolab and Laetitia Sadier, Cate Le Bon, Deerhunter, Yo la Tengo, Black Country New Road.
Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana have dazzled since day one. From the muted strains of their 2016 EP “Songs From The Cave”, to the assured 2018 Trouble in Mind debut Lost and Found, to the sparkling refrains of “Juillet”; released just before the world collapsed around us, and which stood as the band’s rebirth and purest statement of their music ambitions - until now. Principia is the band’s third album and is without a doubt their best yet.
Bandleader and principal songwriter Margaux Bouchaudon’s voice anchors many of the songs on “Principia”, her crystalline delivery ringing out like a bell as the band swoons and sways beneath her. The songs on Principia were composed from a place of confusion about the state of the world and her place in it, looking outward and inward for answers. They question our perception of others, the one they have of us and finally the one we have of ourselves in a society where the individual is king and the group is forgotten.
Guitarist Max Tomasso - newly joined just before the recording of “Juillet”- feels more “moved-in” on these tunes, his sly guitar-work gliding effortlessly through. No showboating - only prickling at the precise moment necessary in suit of the song itself. New member Vincent Hivert (their touring sound man, Hivert joined the group just as touring was underway for “Juillet”, replacing founding member Antoine Vaugelade)’s bass-work is rubbery and flexible, bouncing around and thru the melodies on a rhythmic sugar-high, practically urging on drummer Adrien Pollin’s metronomic swing.
