In the sea of artists and bands who made comebacks over the past couple of years, Stromae was one of the most anticipated but unexpected returns in the world. Born Paul Van Haver, the Belgian singer and producer made a name for himself through various electropop and dance songs, with his extremely emotive singing voice and meaningful French lyrics gaining respect and love from fans across the world.
“Alors on danse” (2010) has been played and remixed by many festival DJs and has been given the Kanye West treatment (the two in fact performed the remix at Coachella together in 2015). “Cheese” (2010) and “Racine Carrée” (2013) are Stromae’s first two studio albums, yielding many of the songs that made him popular like “Papaoutai” (2013) and “Tous les mêmes” (2013).
However, apart from several behind-the-scenes music escapades and the dropping of a Mosaert’s Capsule 5 clothing line, it took Stromae nine years to release his newest album, led by his comeback single “Santé” (2021). Then, after the dropping of “L’enfer” (2022) earlier this year, the two singles became leads for “Multitude” (2022), Stromae’s third album. Despite all the time that has passed, Stromae’s ability to create beautiful and heartfelt songs has not wavered in the slightest.
The major difference between “Multitude” and a release like “Racine Carrée” is that Stromae has dialed down on the energy scale but did not sacrifice one ounce of the beauty that he always mixes into his songs. As a matter of fact, any potential for high-energy songs was channeled into making these songs even more beautiful, to the point that “Multitude” could easily be considered Van Haver’s most gorgeous work to date.
This is apparent as you listen to the opening track “Invaincu,” which features reverb-drowned horns and higher-pitched choral vocals, and a grand array of orchestral drums and strings. This song progresses into “Santé,” which is easily the most danceable song of the album. The song contains afascinating rhythm, heavily inspired by Kumbaya music. Stromae modifies it to give a trippy effect, almost as if it’s reggaeton with the kick being delayed. The song was lyrically written as a shoutout and toast to essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another extremely danceable song is “Fils de joie,” which features an electrifying violin riff and a bubbly percussive effect that persists throughout the track to make the song embody a glass of champagne. However, this glass of champagne is not poured in celebration, it’s poured in protest. Lyrically, “Fils de joie” calls into question the dehumanizing stigmas surrounding sex work, as he sings (lyrics translated to English), “Yes I know, she’s not perfect, it’s true/ She’s a hero/ And I will always speak of her with pride.”“C’est que du bonheur” contains another mind-bending, Latin-inspired rhythm and incredible marimba-like synths, further proving how well-versed Van Haver is in finding the balance between beauty and danceability.
This beauty comes in expressions of sadness as well. In “La solassitude,” one of the more bare-bones and quiet songs on the record, Van Haver sings of the struggles in his romantic attitudes, with the lyrics translating to “Singlehood makes me suffer from solitude/ Couple lifе makes me suffer from wеariness.” The track “Riez” tells the tale of a man seeking success and riches, the things that will make his life feel complete, and Van Haver’s vocals are filled with plenty of emotion on this track. “Mon amour,” on the other hand, tells the tale of a man in a finger-pointing relationship, where he and his partner accuse each other of cheating until he gives up and cries, “Tell me, tell me/ What he has more/ Than me, tell me”. These vocals are each accompanied with magnificent and pretty arrangements.
As mentioned before, Van Haver doesn’t take as much of an EDM-based approach, but the influence in his music is still obvious, and he also sneaks in some pretty fascinating tropes into his production. If you turn to “L’enfer,” you’ll hear choral vocals and a quiet piano clash with a loud, future-bass-style synth that you would hear in his older songs like “ave cesaria” (2013).
The final two songs of the record end up being two of the more fascinating songs because of a similar juxtaposition of styles. “Mauvaise journée” blends a calm and cool guitar with trap-style horn hits, and the segue into “Bonne journée” is seamless, continuing the trap influence with a drum pattern. This conclusion shows how much talent and genius goes into each of Van Haver’s songs, and some of his most beautiful and clever musical explorations are found on “Multitude.” This whole album sounds like the soundtrack to being fed grapes poolside at a luxurious mansion.
