I’m generally not a fan of processed vocals — as I have said before, they can feel like a crutch, used without considering the importance of the fit between a song’s story and its sound. It Got Away From Me has a crisp and clean feeling, the sound perfectly reflected in the song’s video visualiser of someone floating in a seemingly giant body of water, untroubled by waves or other people. Within that context, I really love the vocal effect employed by I Can’t Speak French here, which reminds me of the sound Bon Iver used back on his Blood Bank EP.
The reason this sound works for me is a combination of the song’s minimalism, and its vulnerability. It Got Away From Me is the embodiment of the notion that less is more — guitars, a simple drum rhythm, some light synths and then crucially that vocal. The role here of that vocal is much one of instrumentation, a compliment to the guitars and synths, as story-telling.
The story-telling is still important, though, and the veneer over the vocals feels like a safety net, particularly as the song delivers the killer line, “I’m not scared of dying — I’m scared of dying alone”. There is a blissful floating sensation with It Got Away From Me, and it feels like floating in a softly emotional state, sitting with the observed importance of human connection.
I Can’t Speak French is the new project created by members of Masonair, Movement and breathe. As someone who was a bit obsessed with the potential of Movement, in particular, that is a little thrilling. The name for this new project is a reference to the influence that Air’s debut, Moon Safari, has on them. Yet, the band also liken their sound to “a(n unexpected) cross between Cigarettes After Sex and Kavinsky” — a weird description but also one that is totally on the money. The clean lines of the latter meet the downtrodden melodic melancholy of the former in what I can only describe as hungover bliss. One of those hangovers that doesn’t hurt, and instead leaves you introspective, yearning and more emotional.
Check out It Got Away From Me below. I Can’t Speak French just made themselves one to watch.