Riviera, the new album from Lemonille, drifts through a lush, introspective soundscape — infusing dreamy pop and electronic atmospheric entrancement. Written and recorded over several years, it moves between dreamlike synth-pop and cinematic ambience, exploring themes of longing, reflection, and inner calm. From the seaside serenity of “Levanter” to the glowing expanse of “The Light,” Lemonille crafts an album that feels both deeply personal and quietly transportive.
“Levanter” opens the album with hypnotic enthrallment, as beach-set ambient sounds combine with lush keys. Glistening synths, thumping rhythms, and steady guitar tones emerge thereafter — as does the smoothly absorbing vocal lead. The trickling melding of synth-pop and new-wave nostalgia reminds fondly of New Order. More fervent synth bounciness takes hold as the final minute approaches, then sating with an elegant piano-forward conclusion. Riviera kicks off in captivating form with “Levanter.”
The ensuing “In The Backseat” moves with a debonair, late-night allure — swelling into moody theatrics with glimpses of keys and strings. “I try to be myself, I try to be someone else,” the vocals commence, exploring self-discovery concepts into a “back to say goodbye” sense of catharsis. Succeeding in the dreamy instrumental realm, “The Light” continues the impressive run of songwriting — giving off an illuminated atmospheric pull in its effervescent piano work rainfall-friendly feeling of contemplation.
Stirring in its cinematic, spacious intrigue, “The Day Before” is propelled by enveloping rhythmic elements that present a pit-pattering warmness amidst chiming instrumental assortments; the aesthetic exudes a memorable soundscape, with shades of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s The Last Emperor soundtrack. Then arrives the album’s standout self-titled track, which struts a serenely inviting sophisti-pop sound with its easy-going vocals and caressing synth work, bringing to mind Prefab Sprout. It makes for an introspective, soothingly immersive success, leading into the album’s final two tracks.
“The Sailing Ship” continues to highlight the project’s firm grasp of atmosphere, here delivered across a 6-minute epic that seemingly invokes a night-traversing ship in the middle of a tranquil ocean — progressing gently against the waves as buzzy synths and elegant twinkling build into “sky’s as grey as the sea,” vocal descriptors. Album finale “A Song For The Sun” is another stunner, developing with tactful momentum as trickling harmoniousness and clanging brightness alternate with seamless cohesion. Each track on Riviera flows with purpose and grace, weaving together emotion and atmosphere into an enjoyable whole.
