Fauxliage

Description

The self-titled collaboration album by the Canadian-American electronic music/ambient dance project Fauxliage was released on Nettwerk Records in August 2007. The album features lead vocals as well as lyrics by the American singer/songwriter Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer fame with music written and played by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of the Canadian electropop band Delerium.

As both Sixpence None the Richer’s lead vocalist and as a solo artist, Leigh Nash has long proven herself an artist of nuanced charm and natural elegance. Fauxliage teams her with Canadian ambient popsters Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber (of Delerium renown) for a set of richly-textured, lyrically-bittersweet tracks. She muses her way through the album like a French film ingenue, at once vulnerable and slightly distant. Her hushed expressions of disappointment and regret are surrounded by quivering keyboards and pulsating beats in songs like «All the World», «Draw My Life» and «All Alone». Though a lighter mood pervades «Someday the Wind», the melancholy of «Let it Go» is more typical. With the notable exception of «Rafe» (a song of comfort written for a seriously ill cousin), Nash’s lyrics mostly deal with troubled relationships and free-floating angst. Leeb and Fulber come through with an agreeable pastiche of acoustic pop, mentholated British techno and (on the woozy-but-funky instrumental «Vibing») ‘70s soul-jazz. A small-scale yet appealing release, Fauxliage delivers cool and insinuating sounds with a persistent pang of heartache.

Representing one of the best collaborations thus far in 2007, ‘Fauxliage’ is a project that emerged from the ongoing musical relationship between Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, otherwise known as the dark electronica act Delirium, and Leigh Nash, familiar vocalist of Sixpence None The Richer turned solo artist. For both acts, Fauxliage represents a much needed change of environment, textures and, therefore, output. The beauty is immediate on album opener «All The Word», with Nash slightly revealing her lyrical fangs and the ensuing electropop swirl sweeps the listener in with the venomous current. It’s a song both memorable and haunting and it might just be the best track Nash have ever penned. «Rafe» follows a more acoustic path and seems more suitable to the lead single status it holds. The members of Fauxliage have noted in interviews that this was a stretch for both parties, yes it’s clear this is a marriage made in heaven. All the hard work paid off in stride. [Matt Conner, HM, November/December 2007 – issue #128]

Southern USA collides with South-western Canada in this joint offering for all the world to appreciate, in which the ethereal vocals of Sixpence None The Richer’s Leigh Nash intertwine and weave across Delerium’s ambient landscapes, crafting a sound not dissimilar to Zero 7, particularly on the instrumental outings of the album. After previously working with Leigh under their own moniker on a couple of occasions, the Vancouverites reunite with the Texan songstress to forge Fauxliage. It’s a separate side project for both the trance icons and Ms Nash, with the album largely influenced by the breakup of her marriage earlier in the year. This makes it a lyrically dark effort, although often with melodically optimistic overtones. Leigh’s voice is at its other-worldly best and combined with the tranquil melodies, it captivates the ears. Undoubtedly, the tour de force of the album is «Let It Go» with insightful lyrics – “Every night I drive away from you/ I see the mountains I have yet to move/ I can’t change you and you sure can’t change me” – capturing the desperate plight of her love in a nutshell, backed up by some Spice Girls-esque harmonies. The album artwork’s not bad either. [Andrew Townend, Cross Rhythms, May 2011]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/fauxliage/260662932)

CD tracklist:

01. All the World – 4:40
02. Someday the Wind – 4:11
03. Draw My Life – 4:03
04. Let It Go – 4:44
05. Magic – 3:38
06. Without You – 4:57
07. Rafe – 5:15
08. Vibing – 5:26
09. All Alone – 5:11
Bonus tracks:
10. Rafe (Gabin Remix) – 4:10
11. Rafe (Pacha Remix) – 4:39

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