Variéty

There is an arch pun in the title of this Rita Mitsouko release, which sees the French boho-rock duo eschewing standard French pop (or variété) in favor of a broader rock palette. Opening track "L'Ami Ennemi" immediately surprises by its delicacy. In an incongruously sweet vocal turn, Catherine Ringer sneers at an old friend over lilting acoustic guitar laced with harmonica -- it is a terrific song. Harmonica also features in second song "Communiqueur d'Amour," "Berceuse" (Lullaby) is jokily named given its squall of electric guitar and belligerent chorus, and "Terminal Beauty" finds Ringer trading overblown vocals with System of a Down's Serj Tankian. Although the songs on Variéty lack uniformity of purpose, there are a couple of highlights: "Rendez-Vous Avec Moi-Même" features tooting flute and punchy lyrics over Fred Chichin's simple pattern of guitar funk, while "Même Si" is a meltingly lovely number. And while Les Rita Mitsouko seem to have problems locating the Frenchness in rock music at this stage (The No Comprendo brought a Gallic cabaret melody to spiky guitar riffs), Ringer's voice is still one of the most wonderful in pop music. ~ Caspar Salmon