Laetitia Sadier
★★★★
Rooting For Love
DRAG CITY/DUOPHONIC SUPER 45s. CD/DL/LP
Exquisite art-pop meditation on healing from the Stereolab co-founder.
On The Dash, one of this LP’s Anglophone songs with an unmistakable elegant touch, Laetitia Sadier addresses the “discrete shine of your darkness”. Although similar oxymora and metaphors appeared on her previous works, Rooting For Love comes across as the artist’s most adventurous work to date. At times, the scale of experimentation and intensity resonates with that of Björk’s Fossora (see polychronic chant-like La Nageuse Nue or Krautrock-ish closer Cloud 6). Similarly, most songs on Rooting For Love feature a group of backing vocalists simply credited as The Choir. The overall sonic complexity amplifies the idea behind the album: transformation through love and co-creation on collective and personal levels. With melodies as undulating as, perhaps, a path for self-understanding can be, the 10 tracks share an eclecticism with Stereolab’s Cobra… and therapeutic quirkiness with Meredith Monk. An alleviating statement from an artist whose curiosity and striving for development have remained a driving force.