Still Night, Still Light

Album Review

On their third album, Still Night, Still Light, the dreamy trio Au Revoir Simone don't do anything too differently than they did on their previous release, Bird of Music. The basic structure of the sound (vintage synths/keyboards and drum machines) and voices (winsome leads and rich harmonies) is firmly in place. The palpable feeling of introspection and melancholy is still there, the gentleness of the melodies and sweetness of tone is present also. What has changed is that they seem to crank the melancholy and sadness up just a touch; there are no songs as bright and lovestruck as "Stars" here. Even the uptempo songs with cheerful-sounding melodies like "Anywhere You Looked" and "All or Nothing" have heartbreakingly bleak lyrics. That's not to say the album itself is bleak by any means. The warmth that the group wrings out of its keyboards is enough to dry up the tears, and the fuzzy blanket of sound producer Thom Monahan wraps their sound in gives you a strangely peaceful feeling that makes the sadness seem OK. It also helps that they keep things interesting sonically by changing up their sound throughout the album, with the disco sheen of "Another Likely Story," the unlikely junkshop glitter groove of "Only You Can Make You Happy," the motorik groove of "Shadows," and the doomy synth pop of "Organized Scenery" being most impressive. The straight-ahead ballads like "We Are Here" and "The Last One" are made better by the wide range of sounds that surround them. Thanks to Monahan and the strength of the songs the trio wrote for the album, this stands as Au Revoir Simone's best work so far.