They say the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one, so there it is: I have an acute case of "dislike by proxy". Prejudice against artists with commercial success, especially in certain genres, puts me in a sort of a fingers-in-ears state, enforced by a stubborn refusal to listen to any reason or acknowledge any merit. To a great extend and for quite some time, this was the case with Paul Van Haver, a.k.a. Stromae. But in spite of this selective self-induced deafness, the Belgian electro-dance-hip-hop act managed to grow on me, casting a shadow of a doubt over my somewhat biased approach to music.

  With sincerity, self-irony and depth untypical for dance-pop, Stromae does nothing short of redefining the genre. His second full-length album Racine Carrée continues the rare, nay, unlikely combination of commercial dance and interesting ideas, started in Cheese, topping it with a higher level of artisticity in both his musical and visual representation.

"Tous Les Mêmes" is one of the best tracks on the album and for that matter one of Stromae's overall finest. Less repetitive and more structurally elaborate, this almost chanson-like tune works perfectly both for a night out and for the morning after.

In the brilliantly directed, edited and choreographed video Stromae exploits his androgynous look, playing both (and equally believable) a male and a female. Done in a sort of a cabaret stylistic, the video directed by  Henry Scholfield suits brilliantly the track and its lyrical satire, at the same time indulging Stromae's obvious fetish for shapes.

posted by Iva
January 2014