FOR THE RECORD: COEUR DE PIRATE – BLONDE (REVIEW)

If you aren’t familiar with the musical styling of Coeur de Pirate your heart is probably missing a beat.

The singer behind the name is Beatrice Martin, and her second album Blonde is a dream where you are floating on puffy clouds. Her honey-soaked voice paired with her skilled fingers on piano is phenomenal.

Known for her haunting piano ballads, on Blonde she fills out her sound with a full backing band and includes violins. Her admitted love of music from the 60s is obvious on this album as she draws a lot of inspiration and sounds from baroque pop.

Listening to her first single “Adieu“ you may mistake her for Lykke Li. The bubbly blend of vocals, guitar and keyboards with deep rolling drums and bass makes this song the power anthem.

“Place de la Republique” pays homage to the piano ballads from her first album, but with the use of violin, it builds up to the chorus where the entrance of subtle guitar chords round out the sound.

Even if you don’t speak French, the lyrics are beautiful and delivered in such a heart-felt way that you can feel what she is saying. Her voice is just as amazing in English.

Her first time ever recording in English was with Bedouin Soundclash on their track “Brutal Hearts“ from the album Light the Horizon.

After that collaboration, Martin and lead singer Jay Malinowski teamed up with Mariachi El Bronx and created Armistice, a Flamenco-inspired sound that balances emotionally-charged lyrics with airy summer melodies. A flip side to Martin’s versatility can also be heard on her rendition of “Wicked Games” by The Weeknd.

It’s only a matter of time before an English album is released  which will only further propel her career by being able to reach a wider fan base. At 22, Martin has already achieved so much, but keep paying attention, she will be Canada’s next big singer-songwriter force of nature.

- Vanessa Conley