Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2010

French chanteuse Emilie Simon ditched Paris for New York to make her latest record, and it’s the most strident thing she’s done to date. Her piano-led compositions are supplemented by a wild array of electronic beats and effects—plus a brass section, just for good measure. Kate Bush comparisons are inevitable, not just in the vocal acrobatics but also the barmy ambition of the arrangements: opening track “Rainbow” moves from electro stomp to Broadway number to orchestral epic in the space of four minutes, and it’s hardly atypical. A children’s choir pops up in “Nothing to Do With You,” and there’s a Chinese zither buried somewhere in the mix on “Ballad of the Big Machine.” However, some of the best moments—particularly the Blondie-esque “The Cycle”—come when Simon manages to stick with just one idea.