New Music: Mélanie Pain – Dreamloop

Ahead of the release of her How and Why album, Mélanie Pain has treated us to the enchanting sounds of featured song, Dreamloop.

The singer-songwriter retains the muscle memory of her iconic work with Nouvelle Vague, tempered with an imagined 60s and 70s fusion of pastoral folk and New York primal grit.

The arrangement serves to trigger real or imagined memories, much in the style of Stereolab, Broadcast, and the Velvet Underground, sunny psychedelia and stripped-down percussion joining the vintage folk tones on what comes across as a very personal song.

Dreamloop was recorded live in the studio – with Raphaël Chassin on drums, Oliver Smith on bass, Jérôme Plasseraud on guitar and mellotron, and Alexis Anérilles on piano – and creates a feeling of oneness between them and the vocals, as if it were a spontaneous creation, a joint meditation on suffering and loss.  

And as for the vocals? Well, it’s Mélanie Pain, a singer who can voice a world of emotions even without words, and on Dreamloop, she is quietly devastating. If you’re feeling the pain of any kind of loss right now, clicking repeat on Dreamloop will act as a soothing, reassuring balm.

How and Why is out on the 21st of November and is now up for pre-order on Bandcamp in vinyl and CD formats. Mélanie Pain has a series of live concerts lined up, both headlining as a solo artist and as the opening act for Nouvelle Vague. For details of those, as well as updates for How and Why, make your way to Facebook or Instagram.

Header photo by Simon Vanrie