Laetitia Sadier
Something Shines
Drag City
Best known as the singer for the long-running British-French band Stereolab—now on an indefinite hiatus—Laetitia Sadier has always been able to address pointedly political and deeply personal concerns with equal eloquence. The debut of Sadier’s side project, Monade, was titled Socialisme ou Barbarie, while her first solo outing, The Trip, was her attempt to come to grips with her sister’s suicide. On this captivating third solo album, she continues to range far and wide, mixing acoustic sounds with the retro-futurism that made Stereolab’s electro-pop so inviting. Whether asking tersely, “Do the rich need the poor to be rich?” on “Oscuridad,” or accentuating the positive on the soaring, Beach Boys-inspired “Life Is Winning,” her serene, lovely voice is a remarkable oasis of calm that’s sure to make you feel better about things to come.