The lushness of Sydney Valette’s sixth LP, Home Alone, resonates. As a product of the pandemic, the new album deals with heartbreak and isolation—the very rudiments of the past couple years.
Home Alone found Valette looking to the beginnings of his music career that started in 2005: alone in a room, at home… preferably at Christmas hour. Emotions are high throughout as his pop-derived song structures delegate both dancing and sorrow. There are moments of darkwave, EBM, post-punk and Italo-disco—even rave signatures decorate the vastness of Home Alone‘s twelve tracks.
Valette, who is based in Paris, prides himself on obtaining the “highest levels of vision and discipline” via his art. This precision is apparent as one listens to the LP in its entirety—marked with interludes, the producer has created a complete tome of synth-based music. “Pandora” is energetic and forceful; magnetic in its vocals and synth line, it’s clear Home Alone makes no apologies from the start. Followed by “Station Stop,” the song’s beat is undeniably danceable, and “Mistress of Desire” inhabits a beautiful tension.
While each song on the LP is catchy in its composition, “Crystal Heart” is the standout track with its house-inspired synths and bouncy bassline. “Adieu” derives from Valette’s previous darkwave productions (and is sung in French) while “Warchild” is aggressively EBM in its delivery. Finally, Home Alone ends with “Citadel,” a haunting instrumental track that takes one final pull of the heartstrings before Valette bids farewell in a most dramatic manner.
Home Alone is a journey of emotions: from upbeat to melancholy, the LP tells a story of Valette’s heartbreak—something in which we can all relate.
Buy Home Alone via Bandcamp or Young & Cold. Follow Sydney Valette on IG.
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