Douçe Françe: The Shortest Summer

It was difficult not to be transfixed by this French producer’s first efforts; the sharp, abrasiveness of ‘Indian Flavours pt.1’, the psych-heavy experimentation of ‘Yellow Phoebe Snow’ - perhaps the finest introductory pair of songs I’d stumbled across in the entire year. A more substantial set of material has emerged since; all beat-orientated but all much tamer than ‘Indian…”s immediate bursts of energy. Out of all of these, ‘The Shortest Summer’ is by far the most dashing of the pack. Going by in a flash, its rippling synths and splintering piano line lurch underneath the surface of a track that spells out a sense of yearning and desire in capital letters, on a pocket-sized postcard. This all amounts to a satisfying confirmation of this mysterious Rennes/Paris act being a thoroughly exciting prospect.