Louise Le Hir

Louise Le Hir’s first solo album finds her stepping firmly into the role of pop chanteuse. Her melodies and lyrics evoke longing, romance and a kind of Francoise Hardy or Jane Birkin-derived cool. She doubles down on that on the anthemic, fatalistic “Cosmic Love Song #23” (“I only fall in love to feel the pain” is the punchline). If Le Hir’s vocal presence suggests mannered artifice, the music contrasts by feeling lived-in and worn. The rhythms have a country-soul groove that’s as much From Elvis in Memphis as it is Serge Gainsbourg.