Paul Félix. A name that might not mean much to you. Paul Vincent Visconti then? Hardly more, unless the years have dug wrinkles into your face or you're passionate about the history of French pop, because this is a comeback, a real one.

It's been over 30 years since we've had virtually no news from the singer of Gamine, Bordeaux-based pioneers of classy French pop, who wrote the hit "Voilà Les Anges" in 1988, but even more so from the excellent album of the same name, whose unforgettable songs still resonate effortlessly in our heads: "Le Voyage", of course, the formidable 1986 hit recently cited by Philippe Katherine on France Inter as a seminal track of his adolescence... and which foreshadowed this album, the epic "999", "Les gens sont si bizarres" or the magnificent "Nos Sentiments", to name just a few.

A (spiritual) retreat that sounded like a withdrawal from a musical world interrupted only by a few local stage appearances, to check with no doubt that the voice and the joy of singing remained intact. For beyond the silky songs that, for the first time in the late 80s, even before Les Freluquets or Aline, easily proved that French pop could compete with its British models, Gamine also featured the instantly recognizable voice of Paul Félix. A voice sometimes mocked for its overly affected side, which, like other great voices, was the personality (and a good part of the success) of this pioneering band.

We only had to wait 15 seconds of an introduction that was as caressing and clear as ever to find this almost intact voice, untarnished by the years, on "Se Pourrait-il?", the first single from the upcoming album, released as a preview on September 19th.

Surrounded by a wonderful team of shadow musicians from the French pop scene (Fabien Cahen on production, guitars, and programming, Philippe Entresangle on drums, and Alain Verderosa on bass), Paul Félix delivers a luminous track of astonishing classicism that betrays no intention of venturing into some obscure, poorly mastered modern territory.

Better still, the track instantly sticks in your head, and its beautiful, timeless melody swirls, flutters, and flutters, and flutters for a long time between the bare trees and ponds of this wintry southwest, adorning the beautiful, melancholic video by Laure Fourcade, who also shot the album's photos, to accompany the track.

(Thanks to Olivier at Sun Burns Out for the bio)