Camille is a fascinating artist, and one you should be investigating if you are a fan of Björk or Christine and the Queens. She operates without boundaries, but doesn’t ever sound forced in her exploration of wildly differing styles and speeds. Her way with cross rhythms is strongly persuasive throughout ‘OUÏ’, which means ‘heard’ rather than ‘yes’ – and is a deeply personal tribute to her late father. Sung mostly in French, it communicates with enviable power, and if anything ‘Seeds’, the only English track, stands out a bit too much. The wordless backing vocal sighs lift ‘Fontaine de lait’ to a higher plain, but nowhere is Camille stronger than the high falsetto that she totally nails in ‘Twix’, one of those musical moments that lifts your eyebrows several centimetres when you first hear it! The driving loop of ‘Les loups’ shows what she can do as a producer, and as you get to know ‘OUÏ’ you’ll appreciate an artist who is both natural and adventurous. If anything it is too short – but a concentrated listen that makes Camille’s fifth studio album richly satisfying. Great cover, too!
Ben Hogwood
4 out of 5
