After almost a fifteen-year-long hiatus, La Concorde returns with a brand new release that will immediately resonate with anyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music. “Second Mansions” is his comprehensive collection of twelve exceptional, sophisticated pop compositions, written, composed, arranged, recorded, and produced with such precision and finesse. Stephen Becker, a singer-songwriter and leader of La Concorde, gathered an impressive lineup of outstanding musicians known for their work with ABC, Deacon Blue, The Fixx, Scritti Politti, Van Morrison, and Trevor Horn’s band, with contributors such as Pino Palladino, Paul Jackson Jr., Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Jamie West-Oram, among others. Together, they crafted a sophisticated pop masterpiece, a perfect full-length album that certainly goes beyond anything you could hear today. On the contemporary music scene, where artists, bands, and other music outlets usually overly exploit their influences, experiment too much, or just tirelessly reinvent the same old wheel, only a few projects manage to stand out from the crowd. With “Second Mansions,” Stephen Becker’s La Concorde unquestionably brings fresh, unique, innovative, exciting music that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus, grabs you by the collar, and leads you on an epic journey through the expansive sonic universe. It’s nearly mindblowing how La Concorde assembled this material. Stephen Becker combines singer-songwriter style with various approaches, different techniques, and many complementary music genres in order to illustrate such a luxuriant sonic imagery. Perhaps sophistipop dominates throughout the entire album, but you’ll unquestionably notice some of the finest elements borrowed from new wave, Britpop, synth rock, classic rock, indie rock, indie pop, and many other similar styles. After reading such a comprehensive collection, some readers might think there are way too many music genres involved, but La Concorde expertly and tastefully incorporated all of them without spoiling the initial sonic direction. He used these additional styles as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details that unquestionably uplift these songs on an entirely new level. Although “Second Mansions” carries all the qualities that meet trends in contemporary music production, this material dominantly relies upon nostalgia. You’ll notice how Stephen Becker wisely crafted these songs to resemble something you could hear during the eighties, an era where sophisticated pop music ruled the airwaves. Therefore, these experimentations with various approaches, different techniques, and many complementary styles resulted in a magnificent collection of catchy, memorable, engaging songs that will not only appeal to sophistipop fans but also to anyone who appreciates music written, composed, and performed straight from the heart.
As soon as you press play, you’ll realize “Second Mansions” is one of those albums that demands repeated listens to fully grasp all the instrumentations, elements, accentuations, details, nuances, and other sonic delicacies. Perhaps this album carries twelve exceptional, engaging, memorable, catchy pop songs, but they also carry many complex vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuvers, rarely heard or seen on a contemporary music scene. Take “Corpus Christi” as an example. It’s a perfect opening composition that immediately transports you to an entirely different realm. With lush synths, intricate guitar works, hypnotic basslines, and profoundly detailed rhythmic sequences, it showcases Stephen Becker’s tremendous songwriting brilliance. His voice perfectly suits these instrumentations, inviting listeners to take a jump into his musical world. “Morning By Morning” arrives with a calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal ambiance, crafted by stacking beautiful acoustic chord progressions with reverby keys, while another barrage of warm-sounding basslines delivers heaviness, clarity, and depth. The beats are perfectly accentuated, as they cut this soothing ambiance and provide more groove, detail, and moderate pace. “Time Ticking Away” brings bossa nova rhythms and more hypnotic, warm-sounding basslines to the table, while the guitars, keys, and subtle brass section act as a perfect backdrop for Stephen Becker’s outstanding vocal performance. It perfectly showcases Stephen Becker’s musical versatility and ability to craft songs in almost every genre you could imagine. With “The Sound Alone,” La Concorde dives deep into abstract pop waters, decorated with almost jazzy ambient synth progressions. Becker also incorporated some psychedelic, progressive, and post-rock elements into it, but those are just subtle additions that make this abstract pop song even more luxurious. Songs like “Memorare,” “Therese Of Lisieux,” and “We Are The Songs” return to a more straightforward sophistipop sound. On these tracks, Stephen Becker’s soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, emotional, and powerful vocal performance stands out, acting as a centerpiece, elevating everything to new heights, commanding attention, and guiding listeners from start to finish. His impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse. Besides decorating all these compositions, his voice contributes more than necessary emotional depth and complexity to an already intricate song structure. Also, you’ll notice how the additional vocal layers, back vocals, and sing-alongs bring more anthemic vibes to a particular segment, making this track even more interesting. Tracks like “Saint James,” “Saint Jude,” and “Thirty-Four Trillion Watts” bring more arena rock, funk rock, and art rock sound to the table. These are the moments where the guitars reign supreme, with all those interplays pervading from all possible sides. You’ll hear how beautiful leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers shine on one side while the other resonates with equally impressive riffs and chord progressions. It’s nearly mindblowing how all those layers articulate together without overwhelming each other. The additional guitar effects, such as reverb, echo, delay, and chorus, spice things up and bring these songs to an entirely new level. “The Devil Is A Mad Dog On A Chain” carries the same vibes, but it leans much more toward ambient rock and new wave sound. It gradually prepares the listener for the extended version of Memorare, which, in this case, serves as a perfect closing track that immediately forces you to repeat this epic sonic voyage once again.
La Concorde has not only created an outstanding comeback album, but it also breaks all the rules and shapeshifts the boundaries of so many music genres at once. It’s a sophistipop masterpiece rarely heard or seen on a contemporary music scene that vividly demonstrates the tremendous experience, knowledge, creativity, talent, and skills of Stephen Becker and contributing musicians. “Second Mansions” is a perfect pop album that will instantly become a staple in your record collection. Therefore, head to your favorite streaming platform and check this gem out.
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