Billy, cette chanson est pour toi

Oh Julian Cely...

I wrote about him in early July, and apparently he released a new single in late July that completely passed me by until now. Now, normally a new single from him would be a good thing because I really liked "Pour elle," and I guess it is, but I do have a bit of an issue with it. The song, "Billy," apparently (and I say apparently because I don't speak French) implies that he's gay (which would shock no one), that he's speaking to a friend who's gay (possibly who loves him), or says nothing of the sort, depending on how you look at it. My problem with this? Well, I'm having trouble seeing it as much more than marketing--"well, our big 'for the girls' single 'Pour elle' underperformed...so let's switch to a new market!" or even just counting on the ambiguity to increase publicity.

Oh well, at least we get another pretty cover to look at, even if it's not from a new photoshoot.

In other Julian news, apparently a second album should be out in early 2008 (possibly with a different version of "Billy"--though it's currently available for purchase from legal download sites, that might not be its final version) and could possibly include a more electro style. Despite that "possibly electro" news, his MySpace is featuring three new songs (in addition to "Billy") that don't sound very electro at all. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, because "Pour Le Présent" is very good--I think I may love it. Sort of light pop-rock, but more just pop. Simple pop, but good pop. I hope I'll get a chance to buy it from somewhere. I think it and the other two have been featured on a TV show he's in, but I'm not sure.

Anyhow, I'm not even sure that "Billy" is that good of a song, and if "Pour elle" and "Tant que tu n'es pas là" couldn't take him beyond "that guy that featured on 'Cargo de nuit'" status, I don't see this doing that either, but because I really want to know if this song reminds someone else of something--every time I hear it, it reminds me of something (at least in parts--could be sampling/interpolation...or nothing), but I can't place it--here it is.

Billy--the other new songs on his MySpace may not show much electro influence, but in comparison to his earlier work, I could see how you could apply that description to this song. It's maybe more minimal and poppy than that description makes it sound, though, and it doesn't have the strong bass that I expect most electro to have (come to think of it, there could be a great remix of this song). It's mid-tempo with a sort of loping feel to it. I can see myself listening to it pretty frequently for a couple of days and then moving on (watch me end up loving it). I think I'd just like it to be more hard-hitting or something, and there are some elements I like that could be played up more to create more drama. Still, I change my mind on things all the time.

As far as I know, the single "Billy" is only available for digital purchase, and then only from sites open only to French customers (though I think it's available on the Asian release of his debut album), but you can buy (the French edition of) his self-titled debut album--which doesn't have it--here (physical). "Pour Le Présent" is very good (and better than "Billy" for me; it's got a stronger melody)--I hope it ends up getting released on the soundtrack or on his new album or something.

Next up: maybe back to Norway.