The Singles Jukebox

Pop, to two decimal places.

Angèle – Bruxelles je t’aime

Et particulièrement Uccle, which is why this subhead doesn’t say “Haren must be missing an Angèle”…


[Video]
[6.75]

Tim de Reuse: As a Belgian citizen of Flemish descent (despite not speaking Dutch and never having lived in the country at all — long story) the sleepy, half-hearted groove of this love song rings true in ways that were probably not intended. What do other cities have? Lights, action, love, history, victories. And Brussels? A party, possibly, if it ever stops raining, but mostly it’s got linguistic strife. Oh, Angèle, you say “Bruxelles je t’aime” so often and with so little insistence that it sounds like you’re struggling to convince yourself, which is an incredibly Belgian way to write a song about Brussels. I have been there several times, and it was pleasant but I struggle to remember specifics; my experience with this song is similar.
[6]

Jessica Doyle: I mapped it.
[8]

Scott Mildenhall: That “Veridis Quo” sound clearly has a tendency to make people dream big, but Angèle places herself on the other side of the reverie, at which she’s clear there’s no place like home. It turns out that the sun shines as often in Paris as it does in Brussels, what with them being not that far apart in the scheme of things, but that’s not to say it should feel that way. In any case, it doesn’t matter: the warmth of hometown affection, quietly smitten, exudes from this. It’s not exactly comprehensive in its underdog précis of Belgian history, but home is where the head is, too.
[8]

Michael Hong: Love is illogical. You’ll describe all the beautiful things about something else, the glow around the city, the way the rain feels different, and yet the city you loved first will always call you back to it. Angèle takes on a sparse opening arrangement, but still finds her heart called back to dance music, slicker and louder than before, with her voice sighing in satisfaction on top.
[7]

Anna Katrina Lockwood: This song is a mood, as I believe the kids are still saying. Perhaps more of a mood than an actual song, which is of course sub-optimal — however, the mood created is so strong that I have a good deal more fondness for Angèle’s homesick cooing than I may otherwise harbor for a tepid electronic trudge. My own home city is surely less charming than Bruxelles, though similar in that you can certainly drink a beer there — nonetheless, here I sit in New York City, homesick. Overall, “Bruxelles je t’aime” was a pleasant, wistful moment with Angèle, though surely not one that will be recurrent for me. 
[6]

Leah Isobel: The melody moves with a prim grace; it’s very composed, and Angèle’s vocal trembles in a similarly thought-out way. That sense of decorum keeps the song feeling relatively small-scale, but that’s not a dig. Its warmth is the kind of fleeting joy you get from a scent of home, that follows you for a few hours.
[7]

Alex Clifton: I’m quite fond of songs dedicated to lesser-loved places; maybe it’s because I grew up in a city that ended up playing second fiddle to New York City (wassup, Buffalo). It’s so stupid but it annoyed me every time I’d tell someone “I’m from New York” and then I’d have to clarify “no, not the city, the state, way off in the west, basically Canada.” NYC is great but Buffalo has its hidden gems, and even though it’s been years since I was last there I get very defensive about it. I’m used to these kinds of songs being extremely meditative (see RM’s “Seoul,” LCD Soundsystem’s “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down”) so it’s refreshing to hear Angèle’s take in the form of an electro banger.
[7]

Claire Biddles: Certainly the peppiest single alluding to the hypothetical partition of Belgium on language lines that I have heard this week!
[5]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments