There is a type of nostalgia where the yearning is for a certain place at a certain time, something which no longer exists, something you'll never be able to re-live. "Fleuve", the new record by Ô PAON, is partially inspired by this very nostalgia: the cold winters when there would be a lot of snow, the times spent alone at home pondering while lying on your bed, or the long walks in the suburbs of Montréal in a time when you had to use a payphone to contact your people.
The "fleuve" (river) we are talking about here is obviously the Saint-Lawrence River.
This sort of concept album starts off in adolescence, along the way we encounter young runaways, the story ends with the Québec homecoming of a narrator who is nervous about feeling so different that she is completely alienated by it, she doesn't know what role to play in the society which raised her.
On this record, Ô PAON (Geneviève), shows her influences more intentionally than ever. The guitars are electrified and distorted, we recognize the textures of the pre-internet era mentioned above. Just like on previous Ô PAON records, the lyrics are the result of a mix of anger and frustration. Geneviève addresses directly her feelings of powerlessness when faced with the politics of Canada's and Québec's respective governments. She is now living in the United-States, she has lost her right to vote and doesn't know when she'll come back to live in her home country.
"Fleuve" is a love letter written to someone who annoys you.
The album was recorded in Anacortes, Washington, in an old catholic church at the end of October and beginning of November 2013 with Australian friend Gus Franklin (with whom Ô PAON had worked on Quatorze/Quinze Ans).
9 songs / 32:49
(released by Ô Paon as TAUS005, Jan. 27th, 2015)