Autour De Lucie-- Immobile (Nettwerk 30121)

This is what Francoise Hardy might have sounded like if she'd been the lead vocalist of a '90's jangly-guitar band, rather than a sultry '60's chanteuse.

Even if there is a predictable formula at play here (each cut starts slow, with one guitar, no drums, and a melody-less vocal; then, a minute-and-a-half in, explodes into a groove with a grinding but sweet guitar line, heavy backbeat, and sing-along vocal part), but the thirteen tracks (not counting the bonus remix of the single) on this album shows it to be a formula that works. This collection shows the French act to be much better songwriters than they were on their occasionally brilliant, but inconsistent, '95 debut.

- Brian Greene