This band once played the Lilith Fair. That probably scared away a lot of you. For those of you remaining, let me just say that Autour de Lucie doesn't really fit the whole Lilith stereotype. That's to say this is not singer/songwriter vitriol spewed at the male-dominated world by some waif with armpit hair, though the band is from France, so you never know about the shaving thing. In fact, everyone involved in Autour de Lucie is male except for Valerie Leulliot, the band's primary writer and breathy singer/guitarist.

This is Autour de Lucie's third album and they immediately deserve props for not caving to the pressures of the international record industry and singing in English. These lyrics are all en Francais, and for an English-speaking listener, it shrouds the band in an alluring mystique. For all I know, Leulliot could be singing about sniffing glue and snarfing Cheetos, but that's the luxury of listening to something that's not in your language-- there's one less thing to analyze.

Faux Mouvement finds the band moving more fully in un direction electronique, terrain they explored ever so briefly on their last outing, 1999's dark, lush Immobile. Skittering drum machines and synth textures blend nicely with live drumming and string arrangements for a sound that often feels icy, despite enveloping you like a well-made afghan. The richly textured opener "Je Reviens" demonstrates this paradox nicely, as a cold string section swells behind Leulliot's sultry voice, which is pushed all the way forward in the mix.

"Je Suis un Balancier" follows with creeping, filtered beats and organ chords under a partly spoken vocal. It's a bit too long at almost seven minutes, but satisfying for at least half its duration, if not all, depending on your mood. Of course, the band's decision to sequence the two longest songs on the album at the front gives Faux Mouvement an unbalanced feel, and some fine shorter songs drift past unnoticed later in the album as a result. This is compounded by the fact that these songs are all composed of roughly the same elements, and thus, tend to bleed together.

Still, moments such as the abstract beats, close-mic'd hi-hats, and rubbery bass groove of "Sans Commentaire" show Autour de Lucie as a band very willing to be openly experimental. The main problem with their new will to throw caution to the wind and simply play with sound is that when they do so, they forsake the catchy melodies and simple structures that made their first two records so appealing. Resultantly, "Vide" is interesting if you pay close attention, but it's hard to take with you anywhere. Likewise, the flowing orchestrations on "Chanson de L'Arbre" are initially compelling, but ultimately remain in the mind like a movie score: full of mood, but no grabbing substance.

Overall, a general feeling of ennui sets in as you listen to Faux Mouvement for the second or third time. This is a great album to throw on when you need something to enhance the mood or otherwise fill the air when working on something else (like writing this review). Unfortunately, if you really want to get to know all of these songs, you have to remember which is which by signifiers. For example, "Lent" is the song with the muted trumpet in the verse, some kickass beats and some freaky guitar work. God help you if you want to try to remember the melody, though, because it hardly exists.

It almost appears as if Autour de Lucie are trying to slowly break with their pop past in favor of the Brian Eno ambient technique of making music that you listen to closely, or walk away from and return to 12 minutes later without having missed much. "Le Salon" is the only thing here that really visits the familiar pop territory that they used to reside in, replete with a fuzzy bassline and Farfisa organ amid the little spacy squiggles floating through the verses. But even as the most straightforward track here, it sticks about as well as Teflon.

As a mood piece, Faux Mouvement plays very well, and as the band's first developed foray into the electronic world, it stands as a promising piece. With some work on incorporating the fantastic melodies and songs of old into the experimental, moody setting found here, they could really be onto something. For now, though, it's best to stick with their first two and wait for album quatre.

-Joe Tangari, November 20th, 2001