Planet Ping Pong is the third album by Le Volume Courbe the band that centres around Charlotte Marionneau, who is joined by Lascelles Gordon, Noel Gallagher, Martin Duffy, Theodore and Terry Hall et al. Charlotte produced the album herself.
The album opens with Fourteen a laid-back smoky jazz pop tune, with sultry English vocals with a heavy French accent, that makes them rather seductive, while she makes clear you've used up all your kisses, quelle horreur.
The Moon Song has a sparse piano intro for this love song, Charlotte tells you that she'll follow you up to the moon, she's that besotted by you, now whatever you do don't let her down.
Two-Love has the sound of a Ping Pong game as part of the accompaniment, along with a bass heavy piano part from Noel Gallagher that is probably the best thing I've ever heard him play, for this faux naïve French love song with some cool effects.
Reve Reveiller revolves around a ghost like pump organ and percussive effects on a tune that reminds me of Nico's Le Petit Chevalier. Bag Of Excuses is a list of all the things that need apologies, while sounding like Distant Shore era Tracey Thorn.
To Know Him Is To Love Him is a rather sweet cover of the Teddy Bears late 50's much covered classic, this has an experimental Francoise Hardy edge to it.
Duffy And Mr Seagull is gentle piano, with an almost whispered conversation between Charlotte and Duffy about that Seagull.
MRI Song has the heaviest bassline on the album, it pulses with a deep bass drum beat and glitchy noises and strings like the noise of lying in an MRI machine hoping everything is ok.
Mind Contorted is a gently evocative duet with Terry Hall of love and pain, inspiration and hope, no matter that you've left a huge hole in her life when you left, she would go back to you at the snap of your fingers, but she knows you have moved on. This sounds even sweeter than Daniel Johnston's original, with Noel Gallagher's very restrained guitar.
Alone On The Rope the hushed piano and barely their vocals haunt your every moment, she can never forget how you looked at her, she contemplates that rope and her loneliness.
The album closes with Planet Ping Pong that has lots of odd effects around the slow piano and gently effective lyrics that slowly spell out the name of the album, a recorder whistles through the wind to show the album is over.
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