With emotional maturity beyond her years and intelligent, beautifully written lyrics and melodies, this album is a joy to listen to.

CD Review

Title: Blonde

Artist: Coeur de Pirate

Label: Grosse Boîte

Release Date: Nov 7 2011

Reviewed by Tessa Perkins

This is the second album from the Quebecois singer-songwriter Coeur de Pirate, whose real name is Béatrice Martin. Following up her self-titled debut, this disc is loaded with emotionally charged ballads and heartfelt lyrics. Blonde is a great title for the album in that the word has a double meaning in French: it describes the hair colour and is also a word meaning “girlfriend.” This is quite appropriate as Martin talks a lot about relationships on the album.

The first track, ”Lève les voiles,” begins the album in stunning choral beauty as a harmony of voices fills the song with a dreamy, ethereal quality. The tempo and energy pick up on “Adieu,” and then one of my favourites, the dramatic “Danse et danse,” takes that further as she sings “prends-moi pour une conne” ("take me for an idiot").

“Golden Baby” and “Verseau” are a couple of her more upbeat tracks, and “Ava” is much slower, calmer, and reflective. There is a good balance between energetic, high tempo tracks and tranquil, slower tracks. “Loin d’ici” has a bit of a country influence as she sings “J’ai laissé mon coeur loin d’ici” ("I left my heart far from here").

I really love “Place de la république” which is a heart wrenching, beautifully written song about lost love. “Cap diamant” is another moving song that is one of my favourites as she sings “Ne me laisse plus ici, ne me laisse plus cette fois / Même si je ne suis rien pour toi” ("Don't leave me here anymore, don't leave me again this time / Even if I don't mean anything to you"). “Saint-Laurent” is another really great track with lyrics that just flow so well and compliment Martin’s soothing voice.

The last song, “La petite mort,” ends the album on a very sad note as she sings about not having enough time in life to express your feelings: “Je crois qu’il est trop tard / Pour te dire que ça fait mal / Mon coeur n’est plus comme avant / Car il s’endort tout doucement” ("I think that it's too late / To admit to you that I'm hurting / My heart is not like it was before / Because it softly falls asleep").

With emotional maturity beyond her years and intelligent, beautifully written lyrics and melodies, this album is a joy to listen to. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, her soft, earnest voice will be enough to express the emotions in these songs. Coeur de Pirate is an extremely talented musician and songwriter, and I look forward to hearing more from her in the future.  

Track Listing

1) Lève les voiles

2) Adieu

3) Danse et danse

4) Golden Baby

5) Ava

6) Loin d’ici

7) Les amours dévouées

8) Place de la République

9) Cap diamant

10) Verseau

11) Saint-Laurent

12) La petite mort

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