FREDDA
Toutes Mes Aventures
(Le Pop)
Fredda's not as consciously groovy or detachedly cool as some of the more familiar French musical exports from the past decade. The singer/songwriter recorded Aventures on a limited budget with husband and fellow nouvelle chanson musician, Pascal Parisot -- making smart use of minimal strings, spare drums and some well-placed horns, banjo and Fredda's casual but confident vocals. Aventures goes for restraint over melodrama, veering from the 20th century standard of French pop. The result is more like a collection of short stories worth repeat readings. While the bit-crunched disco of Justice makes waves from across the pond, and American acts such as Bitter:Sweet make over-calculated attempts at sultry continental pop, Fredda and many of her Le Pop contemporaries carry on virtually unnoticed in the United States.
Reference materials: Fredda will delight devotees of Saints both Etienne and Privat.
