Astral Bakers' smooth grunge and Valentine's Day love songs

We remember Revolver, a promising French pop group revealed around fifteen years ago, which never transformed but allowed Ambroise Willaume to begin a solo career under the name Sage. Alongside his two solo albums, the young man launched a career as a successful producer, notably with Clara Luciani, Albin de la Simone and Clara Ysé. Here he is, today, reconnecting with the collective adventure. Astral Bakers is the name of the strictly equal group - two girls and two boys - that he assembled in a fairly natural way. Their first public appearance was as part of the tribute to Françoise Hardy broadcast on France Inter last month. Today here is the first disc of original compositions from this formation of two guitars, bass and drums, in which Sage plays the role of singer. We are immediately seduced by the great musicality of these songs recorded live, in a unique room, with the musicians seated in a circle. Their sound rests the ears after years of highly compressed productions, of records filled to the point of suffocation with instrumental layers. Here the instruments sound natural, and if there is saturated guitar, it never encroaches on the climate of the whole. Adorned with beautiful vocal harmonies, these rich compositions, with demanding structures and chords, immediately catch the ear. Those nostalgic for the sound of the 1990s will find what they are looking for in this soft grunge which owes as much to Nirvana Unplugged as to the harmonies of Supertramp. The Whole Story, sung in English, is the most beautiful French pop production we have heard in a long time.

Did you leave it too late to book the candlelit dinner that your loved one is dreaming of? Not inspired by florist windows? You still have one way to save Valentine's Day: offer this anthology of love songs performed by Dalida. Still as beloved thirty-seven years after her death, the diva here visits a very wide repertoire, from the standards Come Prima or La vie en rose, to more modern compositions, performed in several languages. The contents are as kitschy as the cover, but since when has Valentine's Day been synonymous with good taste, after all?