Album Review: Sebastien Tellier - My God Is Blue

Everything about Sebastien Tellier seems vaguely tongue-in-cheek. Maybe it's because he oozes French charm whilst rocking Messiah hair and beard, or that he blatantly makes disco electro music that takes tacky sounds and turns them into irresistible dance tunes. Or maybe it's just the inescapable fact that he represented France in Eurovision a few years back. Either way, it's hard not to be charmed by his overt and uninhibited presence, both live and on record.

His 2008 record Sexuality took him in a sensual, slinky direction, but now on his fourth record he is introspective, even occasionally sedate. Singing in French, English and Italian, there are unexpectedly tender moments to be found in songs like Magical Hurricane, a soft ballad tempered with only the lightest of piano chords. A striking contrast to the preceding tune Cochon Ville, that seems to indulge in the aforementioned tacky with outdated '70s disco sounds and porn grooves melding into a big, sparkly dance number. It's a Bee Gee away from being played under a mirror disco ball, not unlike the Casio synth slow dance vibe of Mayday.

Whereas Sexuality had been an experiment in minimalism, here Tellier isn't scared of employing bombast with operatic strings in tow on Russian Attractions. It's pop music crafted with care and cleverness aforethought. There is no questioning Tellier is gifted in singing, songwriting and multi-instrumentalism, and on My God Is Blue he employs both his vocal range and the opportunity to broaden his soundscapes with phenomenal results.