Blue Violet ‘Faux Animaux’ Album Review

For alternative indie duo Sarah McGrigor & Sam Gotley, album number two ‘Faux Animaux’, the follow-up to their well-received debut ‘Late Night Calls’, sees the pair spreading their musical wings to craft a set of songs which represent not only their own musical inspiration but are written primarily with the duo’s live show in mind.

Having originally started out life as an Americana-tinged outfit, listening to ‘Faux Animaux’ it quickly feels like McGrigor and Gotley have really honed in on their identity. Kicking off with the confident swagger of recent single “Sweet Success”, the pulsing beat already takes you straight to the dancefloor.

However, right from the get-go, dig into McGrigor’s lyrics and you start to find that there is definitely something of a darker undercurrent to the album. Exploring a never-ending search for achievement in a commercial cut-throat world, it’s this blend of the dark with the glitz and glamour of their music where you start to realise there is going to be much more to ‘Faux Animaux’ and Blue Violet.

“Imagine Me” continues that mix of light and dark where McGrigor’s darker lyrics cut through the gentle but infectious pulse of the music.

When the album reaches “Talking To You,” there is a shift in tempo and, having already seen the iconic Sinead O Connor mentioned in a couple of reviews, it’s easy to where that connection has been made. A sombre, haunting track, and one of the standouts on ‘Faux Animaux,’ the atmospheric “Talking To You,” stylistically, puts them in the same category and deservedly so.

“Boogie Shoes” is another effort from the band were the disco beat gets your attention whereas the lyrics underneath where McGrigor’s lyrical poetry points to a slightly grittier subject. Heading up the latter part of this album, “Barefoot On The Siene,” another of the album’s single, shows the pairs ability to experiment as it switches effortlessly from a gentle acoustic strum into a more full-blooded, almost punk-like midsection.

Blue Violet wrap up the album with the title track, a slower, moodier number and the perfect sign off to an album which sees this exciting pair dabble with rock, electronics, acoustic-passages, disco and punk to craft an album that will keep you on your toes throughout.

‘Faux Animaux’ is out this Friday and you can pick up your copy from here.