Album Review: Claude Fontaine Is A Mod Reggae Queen

If mod-rock had a baby with reggae, it would call the child Claude Fontaine. Her new, self-titled record is like jar of cherries for your soul. To pick one song is to pluck a sweet fruit that makes you feel like you are in 1960’s Jamaica: spending a summer with The Wailers. 

“Cry For Another,” “Play By Play,” “Love Street” and “Footprints In The Sand” made me feel rested. I know that is a strange compliment, but Fontaine’s voice, immediately, puts you in your imagination. In each slow, smooth melody, you can hear the waves crashing unto sand, smell the fresh air of a sunset, and see yourself in a place FAR away from where you are, which is her point. You do not summon such a retro aesthetic if you did not want people to leave their present. 

Stylistically, Claude takes you to dreamier pastures, but it is only because her lyrics sing to the darker ones she has known. Heartbreak is a universal theme, but the time it takes to get over one is universally different. There is no measure to healing, which is what frustrates Fontaine. From “Hot Tears” to “Our Last Goodbye,” she is begging her heart and mind to FINALLY let go of the man that is already gone. Any person will understand her desperation, of which her unique vocality delivers it smoothly and seductively. 

Pain is a weird thing to make sultry, but, in some ways, we can grow addicted to and satisfied by our hurts. While Fontaine’s voice appears like a queen dripping healing water to revive broken hearts, her straight tones and textures give fabric to her personal heartache. The result is an album that MUST be played on loop. To Buy Claude Fontaine’s self-titled record Click Here.