• Artist: Benoît Pioulard
• Album: Temper
• Label: Kranky
• Release: 2008
• Links: Official Site, MySpace

Before I launch into my review of Benoît Pioulard’s new album Temper, I want to quickly touch on his other recent release, Songs Spun Simla. Released in August on the Music Related label, this is Pioulard’s (Tom Meluch) collaboration with Praveen Sharma. Often compared to Boards Of Canada, Praveen’s work is significantly more beat-driven in comparison to Pioulard’s. The two do share similar influences though and Praveen’s electronics come off as a logical foil to Pioulard’s more organic approach. Composed of six songs, Songs Spun Simla, much like Pioulard’s work, is a combination of instrumentals and vocal tracks. The highlight of the set is “Embers” (listen below), which features an outstanding vocal by Pioulard. As someone who was not familiar with Praveen’s music, I am curious to hear more by him. Praveen and Benoît have released one of the more memorable collaborations of the year.

The rest of this review will focus on Temper, Benoît Pioulard’s second full length album and follow-up to 2006’s highly recommended Précis. Temper aims to solidify Pioulard’s singer/songwriter skills while expanding on the hallucinatory instrumentals that were such a part of the success of Précis. Perhaps the best example of this claim is the duo of “Ahn” and “Sweep Generator.” “Ahn” soars thanks to some of Pioulard’s best finger-picking while the instrumental “Sweep Generator” is a shoegazer’s dream. Temper may be more fractured than Précis, but its sublime musicianship and diverse tones make it just as rewarding.

Pioulard’s songwriting chops have indeed taken a step forward on Temper. One listen to “Idyll,” one of his most focused compositions, confirms this. More often than not, I still can’t understand what Pioulard is singing. I love his voice and view it as an additional instrument, so I’m not bothered by this at all. I could just be mentioning this because I was so dismayed by Pitchfork nitpicking exactly that in their review of Temper. It is interesting to note that the limited edition version (sold out) of Temper comes with the lyrics for the album. They are sophisticated and provide a fascinating read, but I almost believe that the atmosphere of Pioulard’s music would be damaged if I were able to hear him clearly. Headphones are a must when listening to Pioulard to truly realize the great thought that goes into these soundscapes.

The instrumental tracks are one of my favorite things about a Benoît album. “Ardoise” is as equally hypnotic as the previously mentioned “Sweep Generator.” These instrumentals are an ideal fit for a film score, so independent directors should take note. It is no easy challenge to balance vocal and instrumental music on record and Pioulard has quickly established himself as a newcomer that manages to do so effortlessly. With Précis and Temper, Pioulard has carved a niche within the experimental community. There is no doubt that he is one of Kranky’s finest artists and for a label with that much talent, that’s saying something.