by David Wilikofsky
We last heard from Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana what feels like a lifetime ago. Their sophomore album, Juillet, was released in January 2020, weeks before COVID transformed the world as we knew it. The band changed in the interim as well; guitarist Max Tomasso, who joined just before the recording of Juillet, had time to settle into the group, and bassist Vincent Hivert replaced founding member Antoine Vaugelade. These personnel changes haven’t seemed to radically alter the band though. Tighter and punchier than ever before, Principia is the most refined take on the band’s trademark jangly indie pop to date.
The first place you’ll notice a difference between Principia and their other records is in the production, courtesy of Hivert. Where previous albums had a charmingly fuzzy veneer, Hivert’s production clearly captures each and every note. This newfound sonic clarity allows you to appreciate the group’s tightness as a unit, but more crucially it allows the band to experiment. The interlocking instrumentals of “Anita” brings to mind a less angular version of former labelmates Lithics; slinky rhythms give a ye-ye flair to “Same Old Story.” Elsewhere they play with Stereolab-esque motorik beats and dream pop textures. Their rough around the edges charm has been replaced by a studied precision, each note perfectly placed in relation to its neighbors.
Admittedly, Principia lacks some of the obvious sugar rush of their previous records. Julliet highlights like “Do You Understand?” or “Flesh and Blood” careened forward, the band blurring together into a single pulsating force; the arrangements here are much lighter and controlled, focusing more on the interplay between each part than cathartic climaxes. But they also don’t completely forgo those moments of melodic bliss: see the saxophone punctuated chorus of “Ada, Mary, Diane” or the soaring one of “The Cutoff” for two examples. Principia may be a more refined, mature take on their sound, but it doesn’t stifle the simple pleasures at the heart of their music. These are still songs that will get stuck in your head for days; they’ll just also reward repeated close and attentive listens.