MONTAG /// ALONE, NOT ALONE /// CARPARK ///

Montag's central figure is Antoine Bedard, who composed the string arrangements on M83's latest record. As such, one might expect Alone, Not Alone to be an exercise in sound and fury, bombastic strings crashing over majestic synths with relentless pageantry. Not so-just the opposite, in fact: Alone, Not Alone is a piece of elegant digital clockwork, a precisely ticking mechanism of tiny crystals and intricate gears that has more in common with '60s French pop singers like Serge Gainsbourg and Francoise Hardy than it does with M83. I don't mind telling you that it's my bedtime record of the year thus far.

Montag's somnolent sophomore LP works in two modes: some songs evoke the twinkling minimalism of the Album Leaf, others update the aforementioned '60s French pop icons for a modern electronic format and strongly evoke the neon-tinted exclamations of Stars. The entire album falls between these poles, conjuring stylized Francophiles like Cyann & Ben, Air, and Stereolab, and manages, by sampling analog instruments, to sound aloof and warm at once. "Grand Luxe" weaves Bedard's chilly croon and droll lyrics through a trickle of drums and chimes, as Ariel Eagle paints broad strokes with her angelic voice. Stars's Amy Milan cameos on "Perfect Vision" and "Angels, Country & Terrain Connu," sounding lovely as ever over Montag's crisp drum patterns, humming synths, and variegated digital palette. Alone, Not Alone is a polite orgy of carefully planned detail, vivid in a way that's remarkably soothing. All that's missing is a Jacques Brel cover and a flower in its boutonni?®re.

Brian Howe