Zoe Avril

I've been a fan of Zoe Avril since I heard and saw the video for "On ne changera pas le monde" (I believe it was posted on Filles Sourires.) It got mega plays on my iTunes but I had trouble finding other stuff and let it go.

But I just found the entire album (and you can too!), the self-titled Zoe Avril. I, and I expect I'm not alone, associate French chanteuses with light often simple and cheerful, and when not cheerful, slightly melancholic, songs. It helps also, as Jim pointed out regarding Carla Bruni, that they're usually easy on the eyes.

If you get a chance to watch the "On ne changera pas" video, you'll see that Zoe Avril is the most cheerful person you've ever watched in a music video. She seems to be having fun but also seems to be genuinely happy to be singing. I'm not sure if the video is supposed to be a satire of a kid's show or what. It's almost a little disconcerting (not knowing the lyrics but knowing that the gist of it is "one will never change the world" and that we need to live simply, and maybe she's talking to her mom?) but at the same time the energy engenders enthusiasm in the viewer. Anyway she should be happy. Her work is fab, fun to listen to, catchy. The music itself is poppy and sugary with fun sound effects (the opening of "Avec toi" makes use of subtle clicks and horns, video game synthy notes on "Jeune diplomee"), and Avril's voice can easily and smoothly bounce between a light sweetness typical of this genre to a more serious, even more vulnerable mature sound (think Keren Ann), already evident in the chorus of "On ne changera pas" and in stand-out form in the urgent "L'accident."

Here are a few tracks, which you can download if you click through to divshare. Buy the album here.