a love song

Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle
"La Ritournelle" sorta just starts suddenly, miraculously, gently swaying towards an unseen horizon, as if it could go on into infinity. There's something inexplicably beautiful in the way the song progresses while constantly repeating itself. But then there's an almost tragic moment four minutes into the song when Tellier begins singing. The words seem painfully mundane, set against the transcendent beauty of the instruments, and yet, in spite of myself, I find that Tellier's unabashed sentimentality (he's singing about a girl) makes the song all the more interesting. It's odd, because my first reaction is to dismiss this sort of treacly mush, but I can't shake the feeling that the song would be strangely beautiful-but-empty without it.

www.sebastientellier.com