Tahiti 80 Wallpaper For The Soul CD

Tahiti 80 includes: Xavier (vocals, guitar, 6 & 12 string acoustic guitars, electric piano, saxophone, organ, Moog, mellotron, synthesizer, bass, bells, drums); Mederic (guitar, background vocals); Pedro (sythesizer, bass, programming); Sylvain (synthesizer, drums, conga); Andy Chase (human beat box).
Recorded at Stratosphere Sound, New York, New York, Le Vert Luisant, Etrtat, France and at Tahiti Lab, Rouen, France between May 2001 and January 2002.
Personnel: Xavier Boyer (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, piano, electric piano, organ, Mellotron, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, vibraphone, bells); Mederic Gontier (guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, background vocals); Sylvain Marchand (acoustic guitar, Mellotron, synthesizer, bass synthesizer, drums, congas, tambourine, percussion); Urban Soul Orchestra (strings, flute, French horn, horns); Pedro Resende (bass synthesizer, tambourine, percussion, programming, loops, siren); Andy Chase (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Tony Lash.
Recording information: Le Vert Luisant, Etretat, France (05/2001-01/2002); Olympic Studios, London, England (05/2001-01/2002); STratosphere Sound, New York, NY (05/2001-01/2002); Tahiti Lab, Rouen, France (05/2001-01/2002).
Arranger: Richard Hewson.
"In my heart there is plenty of room," sings Xavier Boyer in "Wallpaper for the Soul," "for everyone to kill the gloom." This could be a mission statement for the band's breezy, clean, melodic pop/rock stylings. Despite the album's title, Boyer's fey, breathy vocals don't have enough passion or grit to qualify as truly soulful; the band's sound, which is often sweetened by strings, is lightweight and refined instead of earthy, sensual, or intense. The music is still appealing, however, even though it sometimes threatens to recede into the background just like wallpaper. More fully realized and bolstered with a stronger song selection than its predecessor, Wallpaper for the Soul is a well-crafted collection of infectious tunes that won't necessarily stick with you for years to come, but should be quite enjoyable while you're listening. As an additional point of interest, it should be noted that arranger Richard Hawson (the Beatles, Nick Drake, the first James Taylor album) worked with the band on five of this album's songs. ~ Todd KristelUncut (01/04, pp.84-7) - Ranked #10 in Uncut's "Albums Of The Year 2003"
Uncut (6/03, p.124) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...Tahiti 80 marry blissful '70s/'80s AOR with up-to-the-minute techniques. Their music is both timeless and timely..."
Mojo (Publisher) (7/03, p.101) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...It's a glorious entente of old and new technology..."