Thomas Fersen - Je Suis au Paradis (2011)

Thomas Fersen is a niche singer/songwriter, and in Je Suis au Paradis he simply adds a twist to his well-known formula of writing songs about extravagant topics. Instead of making objects into characters, this new collection of Fersen miniatures deals exclusively with monsters and freaks from horror literature or cinema: vampires, werewolves, mummies, witches, ghosts, the works. Of course, it can never become a dark, ghastly, or morose work because Fersen's art is all about lightness of touch and unrelenting, gentle irony -- starting with the very title, I Am in Heaven, when he is actually in the company of monsters. Musically and lyrically, Je Suis au Paradis conveys the air of dignified elegance that one has come to expect of Fersen: lush, pastoral vignettes set to tasteful chamber strings and wind arrangements and melodies that evoke ancient folk or children songs, while witty texts and precious rhymes are not devoid of a certain tenderness or fond nostalgia for his old-fashioned subjects. Indeed, Je Suis au Paradis is the exact aural equivalent of those Tim Burton/Henry Selick animated fantasies such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, only in French. An unpretentious and perfectly realized divertissement of the slightly macabre variety, which only asks to be enjoyed as such.