Soft Power

Joey Proteau is Gaspard Eden, an all-around aesthete. If not a truly original artist, at least for the moment, he knows how to play with colours, sounds, shapes, and looks. His references are cited with care and rigour, the apparent tenacity of his songs reveals a solid aesthetic approach. His vaporous tenor voice is reminiscent of several American singers, starting with the gifted Sufjan and a plethora of his predecessors. His music is much simpler than Sufjan’s; slow to middling rhythms support beautiful guitar hooks (acoustic and electric), beautiful studio arrangements and effects, a variety of textures, patterns and catchy choruses that can become firmly imprinted in one’s grey matter. Indie rock in Saint-Roch, therefore, expressed in English with a barely perceptible accent. Gaspard Eden’s craftsmanship invests a sensual and silky cocoon, with charming titles such as “Baby Black Hole”, “Bathroom Mirror”, “Dry Drunk”, “Pancakes”… Will he have to reshuffle the cards and transgress all this design, no matter how slick this design may be by any self-respecting hipster? Nothing forces him to do so, and nothing will force his fans to push him to do so. In other words, he could go a long way on streaming platforms… until another generic product takes its place on the shelves.