Jean Massicotte Discography of CDs

Jean Massicotte CD discography Before starting his quartet, Patrick Watson explored a variety of musical forms, from rock to electronica, and though Close to Paradise is clean indie pop, these other influences show up in the album frequently. A Coldplay for the hipster crowd (that's X&Y-era Coldplay, not Parachutes Coldplay), Watson and his band write lush, ethereal, spacey melodies that swell into Jeff Buckley-esque symphonies or relax into measured shoegazer riffs; there are hints of ambient too, the way everything tends to swirl and coalesce, the occasional subtle drum programming, the stuttering loops, but there's also chamber pop in the string arrangements and piano arpeggios and even, at times, a tendency toward cabaret. But despite all these things happening, the album never comes across as busy or overwhelming. In part this is thanks to the Canadian folk influence -- the moan of the lap steel, the flitting banjo -- that sweeps over everything like a prairie wind, Neil Young allusions and all, grounding the pieces in simple chord changes or wisping lines, but it's also very much because of guitarist Simon Angell (from Watson's high school ska band Gangster Politics), who adds his lightly distorted electric guitar at just the right moments, just when the dreamy piano seems to be moving too far outward into unstructured territory. In "Drifters," for example, Watson's trippy vocals echo off one another, but before it becomes too dancey, Angell comes in with strong, classical chords, pulling the piece toward something lush and orchestrated like what the Dears, rather than BT, might do. With "Slip into Your Skin" he uses his instrument to different effect, waiting until the song is more than halfway done before he plays his slow but frantic-sounding riff; it's sparse but it's deliberate and necessary, short lines of dialogue that bring the plot together with the characters and the setting. In fact, Close to Paradise plays like a film soundtrack more than anything else, from the Cirque du Soleil ...

Jean Massicotte albums Everyone knows that when you release your debut album, consisting of an assortment of sophisticated and worldly numbers performed in Spanish, and that album goes on to make a far bigger splash worldwide than anyone expected, the only sensible course of action is to...run away and join the circus? That's precisely what Lhasa de Sela did following the success of La Llorona: she joined with other members of her family, which always had a nomadic streak in it, and toured around Europe as part of a circus. Upon her return, she got to work on The Living Road, an album about travel, whether it be wheels ...

Jean Massicotte music CDs Recording information: Studio Masterkut. Arranger: Jean Massicotte. Personnel: Pierre Lapointe (piano); Jean Massicotte (guitar, piano); Benoît Charest (guitar); Caroline Lizotte (harp); Sheila Hannigan (cello); Charles Imbeau (trumpet); Tony Albino (drums). Audio Mixer: Jean Massicotte.

Jean Massicotte discography Recording information: Studio Masterkut. Photographers: Alexandre Désilets; Ariane Charbonneau. Arrangers: Alexandre Désilets; Jean Massicotte. Personnel: Alexandre Désilets (vocals, percussion, programming); Jean Massicotte (guitars, sampler); Jéròme Hébert, Daniel Baillargeon (guitars); Steve Normandin (accordion); Steve Caron (drums). Audio Mixer: Jean Massicotte.

Jean Massicotte songs Recording information: Audio Z Studios, Montreal, Canada. Personnel: Jean Massicotte (vocals, keyboards); Jean-Pierre Zanella (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone). Audio Mixers: Martin Rouillard; Jean Massicotte.