Camille

With percolating rhythms and tight harmonies, French singer Camille submits further evidence that pop music doesn't have to be cheesy or lacking in intimacy. The key, I think, is that on her new album Le Fil, Camille layers much of the album with a variety of sounds made by her own voice instead of the same synth and guitar sounds that we hear all the time, yet retains the catchy exuberance of the best pop music. My French is pretty bad these days, but I think I'd follow her unique siren's call anywhere. Fans of the quirky vocal qualities of Regina Spektor and the feisty pop of Nelly Furtado should definitely have a listen. You may already know about her as one of the singers on the punk covers project Nouvelle Vague where she does sultry versions of "The Guns of Brixton", "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Too Drunk To Fuck". Check out what she does on her own with the strange and fun new video for the first single " Ta Douler" (.rm). A video of a song from her previous album, "Paris" (.mpg), is available online as well.

Special thanks to videos.antville.org for turning me on to her.