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Category: singer songwriter

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It has been five long years since Cape Noire unconspicuously released her “Ad Nauseam” debut on an unsuspecting world. We had just about given up on ever hearing something from the enigmatic Paris, France electro/triphop diva again until “Javel” (French for ‘bleach’) quite unexpectedly turned up in our social media feed. A lot can (and will) happen in five years and just when we thought Cape Noire had retired her cape to the vestiaire she strikes back with “Javel”. Just like its illustrious predecessor “Javel” is 5 tracks or about 15 minutes of smooth, catchy triphop with a pulsating electro bend. One French newspaper dubbed her “gothic electronic” in 2015 and that is perhaps the most accurate way of describing what Cape Noire sounds like in lieu of actually hearing her yourself. There are worse ways of spending 15 minutes than in company of Parisian fashion icon Cape Noire.

For the last couple of years we feared that the curtain had fallen over Cape Noire. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. The mysterious blackcaped musician returns with “Javel” after a 5-year exile. Just like on “Ad Nauseam” the question on everybody’s mind is, “who is Cape Noire?” and the answer is obvious and evident to those in the know. What is certain is that Cape Noire is a versatile and experienced performer who has been a mainstay in the French pop – and rock world at least since the early 2000s. As a musician Cape Noire has tried her hand at a multitude of genres before taking on her current alter ego. That Cape Noire even extended beyond the initial “Ad Nauseam” EP is cause for celebration in and of itself. “Javel” builds upon the aura of mystique of the debut and cements that Cape Noire is one of the most fascinating new voices in the world of electro, industrial, and triphop. Cape Noire is the sound of the future…

In case there’s any doubt “Javel” sounds like an illicit lovechild between “Pretty Hate Machine” Nine Inch Nails, Kosheen circa “Resist” with bluesy vocals à la KT Tunstall. It’s amazing just how close to Sian Evans that Cape Noire sounds. Now even moreso than on “Ad Nauseam”. Instantly laying waste to any doubts opening track ‘The Prey’ has a bouncing beat and reassures that “Javel” is a continuation from the first EP. ‘Till It’s Over’ borrows not only part of the title but also a chorus line from Lenny Kravitz’ ‘It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over’. ‘Geometric Love’ opens with a romantic piano sure to make you think Cape Noire is going to get her Vanessa Carlton or Tori Amos on. ‘Kiss Of the Virgin’ strays the widest from anything Cape Noire has done previously. Only after almost 2 minutes of just piano and vocals the drum machine kicks in. It’s the closest thing to an actual ballad you’re likely to hear from Cape Noire. Just like “Ad Nauseam” before it “Javel” is catchy, soulful, and danceable. There are the occassional darker moments and melodies, but things never get as harrowing, dissonant, and ungentle as, say, Chu Ishikawa but neither does “Javel” ever succumb to forcing itself into any subdued pop hooks present just below the surface .

So far Cape Noire has persisted with the EP format but we’d love to hear what she could come up with the ebbs and flow within the context of a full album. At the quarter of an hour “Javel” is over before you know it. If we were to split hairs it could be noted that the piano doesn’t feature quite as prominently as it did on the first EP. The vocals on the last two tracks are somewhat more nasally than in the first three. The production is virtually identical to that of “Ad Nauseam” but everything is a little fuller and warmer sounding. If “Javel” is testament to anything, it’s that Cape Noire is more comfortable in her niche. “Javel” possesses a great focus and the hooks are catchier than ever before. For those who keep track of such things, the artwork of both EPs is identical – except that the dominant color on “Ad Nauseam” was black whereas here it is white. We wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Cape Noire ends up ghostwriting for other Francophone artists (we’d love to hear what she could write for Jamie-Lee Smit, for example) and we’d love to hear Cape Noire tackle dub techno, progressive electronic, or even ambient. Hell, we’d love a Cape Noire piano-pop record. It would probably sound something like “Rabbits On the Run” or “Liberman”, and that’d be wickedly awesome.

We’re looking forward to hearing in whatever direction Cape Noire decides to move from here. It would be interesting to hear what she could come up within the full album format or whether she’s going to perservere with EPs for the time being. It’s good having Cape Noire back after a five-year hiatus and it remains a question for the ages why the mainstream hasn’t picked up on her yet. Cape Noire would go over well over alternative festivals, high-end dance temples, as well as goth clubs. The beauty of Cape Noire is that there’s something for everybody. “Javel” was very much worth the five-year wait but we can only hope that Cape Noire will return sooner rather than later with the follow-up. A release like this only intensifies the mystique surrounding Cape Noire and her music. Whether her insistence on anonymity is a boon or a bane to the overall enjoyment of her music is entirely up to the individual listener. Good having you back, Cape Noire.

Published on Leave a comment on Lenore S. Fingers – All Things Lost On Earth

Italian singer-songwriter Federica Lenore Catalano writes music that simply transcends genres. Her 2014 debut “Inner Tales” was a record we slept on and it used gothic rock as a basis for what actually was a diary-like confessional of a record of then 15-year old Catalano. “All Things Lost On Earth” no longer concerns itself with genre classifications and conventions. It keeps the same basis of gothic elements and the occasional venture into slightly more metallic territory but everything always comes back to Federica, her guitar playing and her innocent, inviting vocals. “All Things Lost On Earth” is everything that “Inner Tales” was but the interim in between has vastly enriched Catalano’s songwriting. “All Things Lost On Earth” never professes to be a metal album and most of the time it barely qualifies as one, full stop. Federica is a singer-songwriter in full bloom. As any of her colleagues her music doesn’t concern itself with classifications and genre boxes.

Seldom has there been such a gifted songwriter as such tender age. The majority of her debut was written when Federica was but a teen scribbling notes in her room. Not since Lene Marlin’s “Playing My Game” debut all the way back in 1999 has such a young girl displayed such tremendous songwriting talent and artistic potential. Marlin and Catalano hail from different parts of Europe (Norway and Italy, respectively) and both base most of their songs around the acoustic guitar and minimal percussion – yet both couldn’t be more different while sharing the same common ground in songwriting. Catalano came from the gothic and symfo metal scenes, a background she has since left behind, yet at heart she’s a composer and singer of gentle, sweet little musings on love, life, romance, sadness and heartbreak. What also helps tremendously is the warm, loving timbre of Federica's voice and that Marlin hasn’t released new music in what seems like ages. For all intents and purposes, Federica and Lenore S. Fingers are heir to whatever throne Marlin relinquished when she released her most recent album about a decade ago.

What does remain a constant in Lenore’s music is that she always uses rock and gothic elements as a starting point for her songs but the focus squarely lies on, as it should be, Catalano’s emotive vocals. The prerequisite heavier sections are present and accounted for but they never take precedence over Federica’s acoustic guitar and vocals. As it happens most of these heavier sections are incidental and circumstantial as what truly draws the listener in is Federica’s intimate and personal songcraft. While Lenore S. Fingers presents itself as a unit, it is Federica who is the key member, with Lenore S. Fingers functioning as her backing musicians. Balladry is the bread-and-butter of Lenore S. Fingers’ repertoire and “All Things Lost On Earth” is in no hurry to introduce any significant changes to that established formula. For the better too, cos most of the more metallic aspects in the band’s music come across as an contractual obligation and not only feel completely out of place with the surrounding gentle music, but are unnecessary to begin with. In fact, we’d love Lenore S. Fingers even more if they completely abandoned what little metallic aspects they still have. The rock aspect of “All Things Lost On Earth” and its predecessor is not what sells Lenore S. Fingers. Not in the slightest. Federica does.

It remains a mystery why Federica isn’t more famous and revered than she currently is. Perhaps it's the gothic and symfo metal classification that works to her disadvantage, perhaps it’s the limited audience she's able to reach as a singer-songwriter on a smaller metal label. The reasons are probably many but none should restrict a gifted young songwriter like herself from reaching her full potential and the widest audience possible. Imagine what this young woman could write when given the proper resources and backing. It boggles the mind that Catalano is still with her current label when she displays more talent in her songs than certain bands do in their entire repertoire. It’s nothing short of insanity that Lenore S. Fingers is still considered just gothic by many when the influences of Catalano’s songwriting clearly run so much more deeper and wider than just those two genres. Federica combines the innocence of early Jewel with the songwriting of Lene Marlin around “Playing My Game”, the indie/alternative mentality of Michelle Branch and the gothic aspects from anything to Evanescence, Florence + the Machine and Kerli.

It stands to reason that “All Things Lost On Earth” sometimes imposes restrictions on itself by virtue of being a proxy metal album released on a specialist metal label aimed at said demographic. Below that surface lies something far more rewarding and interesting. The second Lenore S. Fingers album is not only a refinement of what "Inner Tales" presented a few years earlier, but a maturation from the songwriting of its most identifiable member. It’s inevitable that at some point in the future Federica will feel restricted by the limitations of the genre from whence she came. “All Things Lost On Earth” already points in that direction and when she eventually frees herself from those restrictive shackles, she’ll truly be able to showcase her songcraft and then we’ll truly see what she’s only alluding to here. Her ‘Ascension’ (which makes us wonder whether she heard any modern Vanessa Carlton records) is much anticipated and hopefully we’ll see that happening sooner rather than later. “All Things Lost On Earth” is a crowning achievement in Catalano’s nascent career – and a definite promise of much, much greater things to come.