Check out Nick DeRiso review of SIB!

Violette is at once old and new world, this sultry European chanteuse who can slip seamlessly into a Delta blues growl.

That renders the French native singer-songwriter difficult to categorize, but it makes for a thrilling journey through her third release, Simple is Beautiful. For instance, there’s the interesting amalgam of “Rocking with Angels” which lives up to
its title by building off a rockabilly riff and a sun-filled disposition.
Violette sings with an impressive range, moving from kitten-y intrigue to gutty brashness -- sometimes within
a single line, as on the initial chorus. The song has broader ambitions, though, eventually
transforming from its stripped-down beginnings into a string-bolstered anthem, complete
with a rollicking group of hooting back up vocalists.

Rocking With Angels by Violette

“Silence in My Head” again begins with a more contemplative guitar figure, before a
sweeping accompaniment of strings returns. This time, Violette settles into a whispered
lyric that deftly conveys the cold quiet of a broken heart, completing a few smart turns of
phrase before leaping into a shattering high range through the song’s shattering chorus.
That sets the stage nicely for a sharply incisive turn on the electric guitar by Mark Doyle.
Ralph Rosen’s chugging turn on the harmonica underscores the gritty blues feel
of “Superwoman,” which finds Violette attacking the song’s lightly ironic braggadocio
with gusto. It’s one of the album’s best examples of her canny ability to meld styles, and
a tribute to her passion for African-American musical styles.

Silence In My Head by Violette

Originally a student of classical music, Violette’s musical landscape changed when she
heard the Verve duo recordings of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. A new passion
for jazz was born. She eventually moved to Boston to enroll in the Berklee College of
Music. This 12-song cycle follows Violette’s debut in 2009, called Innervoice, and last
year’s Joie de Vivre. She continues to perform on both sides of the Atlantic, all the while
taking in influences from both cultures. Check out “Sweet Soul Music,” which builds
outward from a reggae-inflected rhythm into a pew-rattling gospel shout. Violette is in
complete command of this shape-shifting project from the first, feeling free enough to
unfurl a cooing, impossibly high vocal scat that would have shamed Minnie Ripperton.

Sweet Soul Music by Violette

This album’s title track, with a tenderly impactful string arrangement by Mark Doyle,
balances those rumbling joys with its fragile plea for a return to the simple things in life.

Simple Is Beautiful by Violette

Doyle also handled arrangements for “Rocking with Angels,” and “Don’t Make Me Beg”
, a devastating admission of soul-deep need for another.

“Shinin’ Your Light” returns to the opener’s skipping mid-century rock vibe, allowing
Violette an opportunity to sing in a sultry, winking manner that recalls hit country 
songstress Faith Hill. 

Shinin' Your Light by Violette

Keyboardist Laderrick Perry Jr. moves to the fore in a pair of bonus tracks, first on “Miss Your Company,” where Violette sings with a broken rawness. The similarly themed, and musically constructed, album-closer “Need You Now” gathers itself in a more hopeful way, as Perry’s playing -- more insistent, almost reassuring -- seems to bolster a still grieving Violette. This time, though, there’s the sense that her love might return.

Miss Your Company by Violette

Need You Now by Violette

Violette wrote or co-wrote each of the songs, save for the cover of “La Vie En Rose.”
Her writing collaborator was the album’s principal mixer Rich Mendelson. Louis Cato
handles guitar, bass and drums on every track, save for “La Vie En Rose,” as well.
“Rose,” by the French legend Edith Piaf, is in its own way both a statement of purpose
for the emerging French singer – and a chance for Violette to separate herself from one
of her native country’s most famous exports. She does an admirable job on both counts,
beginning the tune with a familiar reverie, but then revving up into a shambling jazz beat
that gives her another chance to show off an impressive set of chops.

La Vie En Rose by Violette

Again, just a wonderful example of her ability to mix and match styles.

Review by Nick DeRiso

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Check out this new video from our CD release show at Drom, NY!

Here's "Silence In My Head" second title on Simple is Beautiful.

Available on iTunes, Amazon and main web distributors!

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Check out Rocking with Angels, first track on Simple is Beautiful.

The song is available for download on all iTunes stores!