Entering the domain of Critique Love’s “Fading Star” is like spotting a comet whizzing past in a dark night sky, sudden, bright. Rooted in the deep textures of alternative music, the song is a hypnotic clash of introspection and adventure, each note feeling carefully placed yet effortlessly expansive.
At the center is Antoine Binette Mercier, whose vision steers the song with a combination of boldness and discernment. Playing most of the instruments and writing the French-language lyrics, Mercier invites us into a circumscribed universe that feels as vast as it does close. The bilingual nature of the work facilitates that conversation between languages, and it’s brain and feeling held in delicate balance.
Frannie Holder and Lisa Kathryn Iwanychi contribute layered English vocals that rest atop the instrumentation with an ethereal crispness, while Robbie Kuster’s drums and François Plante’s bass form a pristine but dynamic rhythmic backdrop. The guitar of Simon Angell gives the music an otherworldly sheen, which is beautifully provided for by Mélanie Bélair’s violins, Claude Lamothe’s cello, Estelle Lemire’s ondes Martenot, and Fabienne Lucet’s piano.
Together, they create an expansive tapestry of sound that somehow sounds cinematic while maintaining a sense of intimacy. “Fading Star” is introspective and the perfect snapshot of Critique Love as an artist. This is a song that proves Critique Love is part of a project that isn’t afraid of straddling the fuzzy line between cerebral and sincere.
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