There’s a stylish French-looking guy (who I’m assuming is Philippe B) on the cover in a retro seventies suit, lounging amongst piles of LPs (including Kraftwerk) and an old school record player. So of course I assume it’s DJ dance music with a French twist. Maybe, erk, triphop. Ug. His last name is B, for crissakes! And the layout is stylish just like a fashion-forward electronica label would do it. But it just goes to show you not to judge a booklet by its cover. I slap on the CD and pull out my dancing shoes only to shove them back under the bed. PB is a finger-picking folky, singing in la belle langue (which I don’t understand) just like all my favourite chanseurs from French CBC–which I listen to in the car as I drive my daughter to daycare in the hopes that she’ll learn the language. Neither of us are bilingual yet, but we’re laid back and cool like Philippe B. Ça va bien! (Terence Dick)
CD, Proxemett, www.philippeb.ca