Aucklane - Good Girl / Bad Seed

At first glance, you think this is one who must have been raised on the pop-rock of the 90s, from Garbage to Sheryl Crow. With a drop of Britney Spears.
In reality, Charlotte Maquet, only 35 years old, has mainly listened to Arctic Monkeys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Florence + the Machine and Jack White. Or Alexandra Savior, from whom she borrowed the nonchalance in the voice (notable on the mid-tempos "Always the Same" and "The Night is Young"). I'm also thinking of Send Me Love Letters, a bit in the same rock register with a wicked female voice. And explosive choruses.

It was not until 2020 that, after various experiences, Charlotte decided to launch Aucklane, the project that was close to her heart, accompanied by a bass-guitar-drums combo as expected. A few additional musicians and backing vocals complete the ensemble, depending on the piece (keyboards, violin, guitars, percussion). Ideal crew to turn all her material into a reality.

The stop-and-go of the verses of "Hard to Get" is too clever, while "Berlin" sounds like a hit, and "Shiver" drives the point home. Then comes the delicate "Suzanne" to temper our jolts. Not for long, don't worry. One after the other, in a sustained vocabulary, the songs tell about feverish relationships, alcoholism ("Always the Same"), city and night ("Midnight Girl"), the lives we dream of and those we play on a throw of the dice.

A reproach? The wrong choice of opening track. Actually it starts well, but it lacks a real chorus. No matter, the whole set is coherent, homogeneous, loud and sharp, without any hassle, with no other ambition than to “be in a vein that we love and do things as we like”, as she says herself.

At first glance, you think this is one you will have to follow closely. (And even at second glance.)