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From the tranquil opening "Noir Noir" things don't progress much, Monade roll out the pleasant enough analogue-in-spring warmth with some nifty bass playing to keep things at the right end of perk. The start/stop jangle of some of the music elevates Monade into a more melodic area, away from a whisked smooth listen, adding a couple of edges to pull in a listener. Overall through, there's a gentle flow produced by the similar elements and aesthetic employed across the album, Sadier seemingly drawn into a subtler mind set.
The addition of strings on a couple of tracks adds a Sean O'Hagan tint to the album (again reminiscent of her musical past), making things a little more organic. These bare strings also work well as a balance against the up-tempo bounce of a track like "Entre Chien Et Lou" and its up-tempo change.
Lyrically, Sadier's English can sometimes feel a little heavy-handed, her cod socio-political couplets often left sitting out on their own, unsupported by the backing music ("Elle Topo" galls in particular). On the other hand, as I don't speak French, her native tongue lyrics have always been saved from any scoffing due to their inherent mystery. The album is a placid entity, some of these cuts could easily be on a Stereolab LP even if things here aren't as starkly produced or heavily stamped with that band's aesthetic.
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