Alexis O'Hara is in this category of women who are able to leave a deep impression upon first meeting. I was fortunate to know her for a musical project at the last Festival de musique actuelle de Victoriaville, and those few moments, repetitions and exchanges, have only confirmed the impression I had of her initially.
I've seen Alexis play in the electronic festival Voix d'Amériques in the company of Bernard Falaise and Michael F. side. I found his contribution very interesting and found myself thinking it would be interesting to work with her. The latter is however much better known as spoken word artist and his sound installations. Whether through his igloo speakers or its slam competitions. There she released her first full length album since 2002 on the label & Records, a label of experimental music led by Michael F. Side. "Ellipsis" is a disc very pop, with catchy songs backed by a fine music sought.
Alexis is superbly accompanied throughout his album, his collaborators are varied and each add just one feature of their own. We find joy with guitarist Bernard Falaise and Michel F. Hand percussion on several tracks. But there is also the trumpeter Brian Lipson, Alexandre St-Onge on bass, percussionist Stefan Schneider Bell Orchestre, Radwan Moumneh and Sophie Trudeau of Godspeed violin. This is one of the album I listened to most often last year because of its catchy pop, but experimental. Alexis O'Hara offers a trilingual work, where an alternate English poetry with shades highly controlled, prose in French and English naive approximation. But this does not diminish the charm, however. But the pieces are in English, in my opinion, the most successful.
You should have seen Alexis at its launch, it played the card of naivety, inexperience, funny and goofy. The charm worked easily on the public here tonight. His album is a bit more content but it all without his dry humor and self-derisive, at least he is not put forward as many as on stage.
There are many good pieces on the disc and from half of the disc are linked to it apace. The highlights are the song "Butterfingers", with its bass riff vaguely reminiscent of the song by Mark Lanegan and Kurt Cobain "My Girl" . "Walk Jelly" is simply superb, the trumpet and bass Lipson St-Onge is played softly, the tone of voice is sour O'Hara, velvety, worthy of a smoky jazz lounge. One of the best parts of the album, floundering in a free bass and trumpet melody, an easy reference is the amalgam of jazz and improvised song that is "As the radio" Brigitte Fontaine. The rhythmic play of Michael F. Quoted on "Detached Love Song" is so magical causing it makes us want to sing. Like I said earlier, this disc is full of pearls.
It is interesting to note how Alexis O'Hara, in his artistic career, plays with sexuality. She is able to disguise herself as a man convincingly, but at the same time is able to assume a highly sexualized femininity. This is reflected in the songs of this album, most if not all about love, relationships between men and women a sexuality that is still as incomplete. An inherent lack underlying lyrical frame of the disc. Indeed, one wonders what is this ellipse described by the title track. What it seeks to voluntarily omit this disc actually quite sexual? They are more than three dots that are necessary to mask the concerns of the female unconscious.
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