Eiskeller

Album review

Is this a Rover from another era? It may well be, and if so, all the better. Listening to Eiskeller ("cold room" in German) reveals delicate precision and an obsession with the seventies, a time of dreams that still inspires dreamers... But on this album, the influence of the past is mixed with the reality of the present; hence the auto-tune, which Rover deploys rather deftly on Cold and Tired, in which he plays with unusual combinations of vibrations and variations. We also find some seductive songs built in the tradition of great pop music: the majestic Wasted Love evokes The Beatles with its lennonesque turns of phrase. Other songs, such as the whimsical Silent Fate, bring to mind Sébastien Tellier, both in terms of the arrangements and the strange voice, plus the kitschy ensemble sound. But whereas Tellier's tongue is firmly in his cheek, it's hard to tell whether or not Rover's oddness is simply part of his character: it seems quite possible that his love for the absurd is simple, sincere and earnest. Either way, this gifted enfant terrible leads us on an unsettling journey through a musical world that seems familiar at first, only to take us to some very strange shores, such as the totally crazy I Still Walk. By alternating between the familiar and the foreign in this way, Rover makes it clear that he is a great artist. We have no problem following Rover into this Eiskeller, amid its distant echoes, dull cries and sudden thunderclaps. This is a most successful album. © Yan Céh/Qobuz