I’m always somewhat weary of approaching a “bigger” artist’s solo work, and this is why it took me a while to really jump into the solo work of Jonathan Robert – guitarist/lyricist/singer of the psychedelic Queb art-rock Sub Pop label group Corridor (whose newest album, Mimi is a trip in itself). But damn, am I glad I finally did, and I am even more glad Nouveau monde was my introduction.
Nouveau Monde is the fourth album of Jonathan Personne, derived from a bunch of older unfinished songs left on the cutting room floor, which were then fully realized years later and released this month. For someone unfamiliar with Personne’s work, I immediately hear the classic rock guitar gods influences in the burner of an opener, “La vie, la mort” (which has an almost Power Rangers theme feel with its elastic guitarmonies.) That same vibe is brought during the duelling solo in “Les jours jeureux” —kind of like a more playful Steve Vai.
But there is a lighter, more artsy electro-folk pop side to Personne: distorted organs, light acoustic guitar, and hazy reverbed vocals pleasing for a Sunday afternoon (“Vision”). Nouveau Monde has some alt-rocky moments, but they are never as in-the-red as Corridor, and as a whole, this album is an entirely different experience. “Nuage Noir” reminds me of the ’60s revival garage rock ala White Fence or even OGs like The Zombies, but it has a noisy, experimental, shoegaze background – just honey for the ears.
There is a recurring vocal motif in many of these songs, a sort of Turtles-era “ba ba ba,” that welcomes itself like a warm hug between the riffery and heavier guitar parts. This vocal signal wraps a nice bow around the whole album, making you feel like these songs couldn’t exist apart. It’s funny because all these tracks come from different points in time and were meticulously yet playfully refined by Personne, specifically for Nouveau Monde.
One of the last tracks, “Zoé sur la montagne,” is a gorgeous ode, a slacker folk gem – touching on the dreamlike way children see the world. Really, there’s not a bad or half-cooked song on Nouveau Monde. A little triumph.
