We’re All Barely Real

Fievel Is Glauque “As Above So Below”

The first time I wrote about Fievel Is Glauque a couple years ago I described them as an “intriguing common ground between Gaucho-era Steely Dan, Stereolab, and Tom Jobim,” and that’s even more true now that they’ve graduated to more hi-fi production and more elaborate arrangements. But they also sound nothing like those artists in that there’s almost always some twitchy, chaotic element to their songs that (to varying degrees) undermines their smoothness and sophistication. “As Above, So Below” is essentially a sunny ballad that sounds like it’s from some lost mid-20th century musical but the arrangement is deliberately a little too busy, giving the music a nervous energy you wouldn’t find in actual music of the era. I can see how this would be off-putting to some people, but I find this very intellectually engaging and aesthetically appealing. I feel like the oddness accentuates the loveliness, like how salt brings dimension to the taste of caramel or chocolate.

Ma Clément’s lyrics are intriguing, if a little hard to discern. In this song she’s singing about some very big ideas – the notion of heaven and souls, magical vs natural, science and faith, the possibility that any of us can truly change the world – but with a bit of an arched eyebrow. Not in a dismissive way, but more in a way that signals humility and good humor about very heavy concepts.

Buy it from Bandcamp.