You’ve got to listen to what the Parrot says – and try to repeat! It’s time for a new post!
Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Amour Colère” (Available from September 25th, 2020) (via Capitane Records)
Good Morning! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up your daily post on the blog, as like always, because it is my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! “Parrot” is a hidden gem of a new track which I heard during John Ravenscroft’s edition of 6Music Recommends last week, and I’ve sadly never heard of Nicolas Michaux before. Michaux is an emerging singer-songwriter who was born and raised in Belgium, but, according to the info on his Bandcamp page, he now divides his time between his home-turf’s capital city of Brussels and the Danish Islands of Samsø, where his family lives. This is where he writes, records and produces his own music, alongside a bit of time growing vegetables with his family. He self-released his debut album, “à la vie, à la mort”, in 2016, and he performs his music in both English and French. “Parrot” marks the signal that his sophomore LP effort, “Amour Colère” is due for it’s release on September 25th, and he’s signed up to Capitane Records for his next creative endeavor. Let’s take a listen to “Parrot” – with it’s Visualizer video below!
Michaux writes that “It’s one of the oldest songs on the record, but the one I recorded last” and “It’s a slightly obscure and ambiguous song, but by its themes and images I have the impression that it speaks of our time.”, upon explaining the themes and writing of the new track. The hard work paid off, because this is an excellent jangly Tropicalia-Pop cut that hints towards 90’s Brit-Pop and 00’s Synth-Funk, with vocals that evoke Thom Yorke and synth melodies which remind me of LCD Soundsystem. Michaux opens with: “Your frustration has a face, but the guard said no picture” in a low-tone delivery, as a hint of Nu-Disco flavor bursts through the Indie Rock frame, with a dry Snake Drum bassline, and a stripped-back rhythm guitar instrumental. He introduces a radiant backing vocal in after the first chorus, as the Kick Drum groove carries on going within the background of a smoky, baritone Punk direction. The lyrics are ambiguous and undefined, although a soft Political message about using vice presidents as Puppets screams out to me, with the main hook of “Listen to the words that the Parrot says, and try to repeat”. It surprisingly builds to an eminently danceable, globally-influenced outro. It retains the core guitar-and-drum groove, but an acidly jittering bass guitar line gets woven into the mix, along with a repeatedly shimmering guitar backing and a soft, Summery electronic synth riff that makes you feel the need to get up and move. The outro is lively and exciting, evoking qualities of Tropicalia and World-Rock with a slightly Vintage sound with solid ease. Overall, I think it’s brilliant because the production behind the track sounds gloriously eclectic and fresh, with cool guitar lines and a melodic drum groove that burns slowly to the tropical finish. We should be supporting artists like Nicolas Michaux on daytime radio.
Pictured: Nicolas Michaux in a publicity shot to promote the release of “Parrot” (Single) (2020) (Photo via PR)
Thank you very much for reading my new post! I will be back tomorrow for an in-depth look at another emerging musical artist, but this time, it’s going to be on more homely ground, with an LGBT Dance artist currently residing in Bristol. The artist performs under an alias which is named after a popular brand of Deodorant that all British guys typically get for Christmas. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime
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