Silencio

Laetitia Sadier continues to display admirable self-possession and subversive flair on her sophomore solo album, *Silencio*. Sadier’s vocals remain rooted in the syncopated stylings of Astrud Gilberto and similar bossa nova chanteuses. Her charisma here is only heightened by the deft blending of analog synthesizers and folk-jazz acoustic instrumentation. There are intriguing sonic textures galore, like the cascading electronica blips in “Between Heaven and Earth” and the rippling vibraphone in “Silent Spot.” A gliding disco groove lends “Fragment Pour le Future de L’Homme” an intoxicating kick, while “Silent Sport” dips into a spacy lounge mood. Sadier uses these shifting aural colors to frame lyrics both introspective and socially conscious in content. “The Rules of the Game,” “Ascultation to the Nation,\" and “There Is a Price You Pay for Freedom (And It Isn’t Security)” are among the scathing indictments of the ruling classes found here. Sadier moves between such urbane protest pieces and erotic musings like “Lightning Thunderbolt” with ease, making *Silencio* a multifaceted showcase for her sophisticated talents.

It's 2012 — do you know where your government is tonight? Occupy yourselves — and let's get busy with the music in our minds.

The Stereolab frontwoman's latest solo LP renders her old band's political focus into a sort of fashionable socialism, for a breezy, pretty record that occasionally bows beneath overpowering and obvious political theories.

Silencio is beautiful: blissfully arranged, dreamily played and politically passionate. No-one else makes records like this.

“Lightning Thunderbolt” is the track you’re looking for, if you’re curious how far Laetitia Sadier could possibly get from…

For any film buff, the title of Laetitia Sadier's second solo LP since Stereolab went on indefinite hiatus may hold an immediate connotation of the David Lynch film Mulholland Drive.