Anoraak’s been building toward this for a while. The Marseille, France-based multi-instrumentalist’s new album, Golden Hour, out now on Chromeo’s Juliet Records, represents the completion of a years-long move toward a predominantly nu-disco sound. The founding member of the storied late-aughts French synthwave Valerie Collective has unleashed a vibrant, sea-salt-toasted collection powered by his pulsating bass-guitar walks, gorgeous synth hooks, shiny guitar riffs, entrancing vocals (his and guests’), and tight and propulsive drum arrangements. Infusing every number is a sizable emotional intelligence that he has brought to every EP, LP and single since his debut material in 2008.
Anoraak (AKA Frédéric Rivière) has always had noticeable nu-disco elements in much of his music, but about six years ago we got a full-throated dose on “Panarea,” Anoraak’s contribution to the Vehlinggo Presents: 5 Years compilation. (To this day, it’s one of the top-three most popular tracks from the album.) However, the singles leading up Golden Hour and now the album itself largely represents the apex of Anoraak’s foray into this sound.
Over the course of the 11-track record (14 if you count the edits and remixes) are bright songs tailor-made for hopping on a boat and enjoying the sun-soaked high seas, but they also easily translate just as well to a nice drive, chilling around your pad, or perhaps embarking on a headphone-augmented urban adventure. The record also includes pensive songs that dial down the tempo and dial up a focus on the complexities of the human condition. It’s really quite the package.
Anoraak and collaborators travel into the waters of the likes of Moroder, Goldroom, Roosevelt, and Matthew Dear (among others), but with Rivière’s own, unmistakable touch. For example, there is the classic sing-speak element of French pop that I personally love. (It’s not full Serge and partners, but there’s a vibe.) Also, as I touched on above, the lyrics aren’t always as straightforwardly jovial as the musical arrangements can be — Rivière maintains his knack for inserting wistfulness, deliberation, and nuance into his storytelling.
The record kicks off with the ecstatic “Magnifique,” featuring Julia Jean-Baptiste with a markedly Chanson command, a dynamic reminiscent of his 2020 single “Gang” with Sarah Maison. The musical composition is heavily centered on 1970s disco — high-octave string stabs, some chunky clavinets, a walking bass, a driving beat — and Jean-Baptiste’s vocals are bathed in ethereal reverb.
“Tell Me A Thing” channels minor-key moods and an airy headspace reminiscent of a sophisticated, dinner-jacket affair that unfurls sensually in the spirit of Gazebo and Bryan Ferry. “The World” recalls Anoraak’s Figure era of the mid-2010s, updated with the bass groove and tight guitar riffage of his more pronounced disco sound. The chorus sees him singing about wanting to experience the whole world, and the song’s big arrangement reflects this grand aspiration.
“Drop Me A Line,” featuring Rivière’s fellow Marseille resident Yan Wagner of The Populists, is a sexy blast of disco kinesis top-loaded with Wagner’s confident pleas. The title of the song “Shikata Ga Nai,” featuring Julia Kwamya on lead vox, is a Japanese term-of-resignation that means something like “it is what it is,” and the lyrical content reflects that — even if the music has enough energy to distract from these lamentations.
The record’s more downbeat and contemplative songs are just as good as their upbeat counterparts. The title cut is a stunningly gorgeous marriage of introspective soundscapes and engaging polyrhythms that ebb and flow like the hypnotic waves of a mildly sedated ocean. The candlelit “Bound For Random,” one of my favorite cuts on the album, is an indie-rock outlier that borders on the sacred. The guitars are gorgeous with Rivière’s somber, airy vocals offering a stunning complement.
Ultimately, Golden Hour is one of the best, if not the best release of Rivière’s post-Pony Pony Run Run career so far. The French musician and producer has shown with each release a talent for creative storytelling, inventive musical composition, and complicated lyrical themes that I hope will attract to him the wider audience he deserves.
Golden Hour is out now on Juliet Records.
Vehlinggo has featured a few interviews with Anoraak over the years. There was one around the 10th anniversary of his iconic debut LP, Nightdrive With You, as part of the Valerie Stories series on the Nantes-based artist collective. He also contributed an interview to another Valerie Story around that time about College. Oh, and 10 years ago I found him in Brooklyn at the former Verboten in Williamsburg. Or for everything tagged Anoraak, walk this way.
