La Femme - Teatro Lucido

The Paradigmes era was a fruitful time for La Femme, spawning not only a well-regarded album but a collection of bonus tracks, a film, and a series of NFTs. Many groups would take a breather after so much output, but Marlon Magnée and Sacha Got doubled down, releasing Teatro Lúcido just a year and a half after its predecessor's arrival. Building on the Paradigmes track "Le Jardin," La Femme's fourth album is also their first entirely sung in Spanish as a tribute to their fond memories of touring Spain and Latin America (the album title comes from the band's favorite theater in Mexico). Got and Magnée pay tribute to the regions' sounds as only they can, bookending the record with theatrical flair. "Fugue Italienne," which also throws some spaghetti Western homage into the mix, offers a bold fanfare with its combination of trumpets, castanets, and whirling synths, while "Ballade Arabo-Andalouse" brings things to an atmospheric close with echoing brass and laughter that evokes good times turning into memories. As they blend these influences into their sound, La Femme's knack for unpredictably catchy pop remains pre-eminent. "Sácatela," which borrows the swaying rhythms and breathy flutes and vocals of Brazil, is summery perfection; another Brazilian tribute, "No Pasa Nada," features Adios Amores' Iman Amar and fits in with the project's slinky electronic pop perfectly. Teatro Lúcido usually works best when La Femme's love for these styles doesn't overshadow their own, whether it's the touches of reggaeton of "Contaminado" or the Andalusian fantasy of "Y tú te vas." Their appreciation of a wide range of musical eras also works well; it's hard to imagine many other acts who could juxtapose the tweaked vocals and forceful beat they borrow from 2020s Latin pop on "Teatro Lúcido" with the loping pasodoble rhythm and tympani of "Maialen." However, the strummy singalongs "El Tio del Padul" and "El Conde-Duque" (notably the album's only songs not to feature La Femme's trademark female vocalists) feel like outliers that halt the record's momentum, especially when a graceful ballad like "Tren de la Vida" shows that La Femme can take a more straightforward approach to the album's concept without sacrificing their identity. Though it's less consistent than Paradigmes, Teatro Lúcido is a project from the heart that also shines a different light on La Femme's music. ~ All Music Review