Please, Wait....

The idiosyncratic musical partnership of Australian singer/composer Maxwell Farrington and French chamber pop outfit Le SuperHomard (in this case, a solo Christophe Vaillant) was introduced with the theatrical Baroque pop of 2021s Once. The two musicians had originally bonded over a common love of artists like Scott Walker and Lee Hazlewood, and they continue to inhabit a yearning, orchestral retro-universe with the follow-up, Please, Wait.... Whats changed is that the debut was essentially an early-pandemic project that was recorded remotely, while Please, Wait... found Farrington and Vaillant not only working in person but enlisting the participation of opera and conservatory musicians. In fact, the final version of the album is a re-recording that took place with classical musicians at French venue LAutre Canal. As part of an eclectic palette, those musicians are joined here by traditional band instruments, synthesizers, and tools including theremin, the latter of which makes conspicuous appearances on "Plat du Jour," a song steeped in memory and melancholia. Elsewhere, "Postprandial Promenade" features singer/songwriter Nadine Khouri alongside touches of pedal steel guitar, castanets, and trumpet, in addition to its core band, strings, and atmospheric synths. Meanwhile, the deep-voiced Farrington is arguably at his finest on "Topinambur," which strips down accompaniment to mostly strummed guitar, strings, piano, and hand percussion, although shimmery synths make a few entrances. On the other end of the spectrum are songs like the orchestral rock entry "The Nimbostratus Jig" and the striding "Beggings Not My Business," a song set on Christmas Eve. Even with its lush palette and tendency toward dramatic song titles and lyrics, Please, Wait... is, at its core, a romantic pop album, one that sees the collaboration step a bit further away from pastiche and more into its own. ~ Marcy Donelson