Recently, Moncton’s alternative Acadie-rock five-piece Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire released their third album, Viens avec moi. The 19-track, hour-and-twenty-minute-long concept album takes listeners on a journey through the many realistic struggles of life as a musician.
Viens avec moi starts off on a psychedelic note, which it carries through the majority of the album. Along the way, however, the album takes turns towards pop, jazz, soul and, of course, alternative. The album even includes a choral number, “Pousser ma note,” for which they ran a singing contest and which, along with “Pousser la note” highlights how some people reach fame simply by winning a contest, like The Voice or American Idol.
The overarching theme, the challenges of being a musician, hits on many important topics including mainly the fact that so many people today achieve fame not based on their skill as a musician but on their ability to maintain a strong presence on social media.
“Whether you are a musician in the east coast, or from the west coast, we all share the same challenges. At the end of the day, all we want is the freedom to create our art. We are constantly reminded of how people get “famous” today, go on the Voice, make a unique YouTube music video that goes viral, be on your A-game with social media to rack up some likes and views,” says Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire’s dummer Maxence Cormier.
“Is that what being a musician is about nowadays? Having the most likes and reaching the most people? Quantity and not quality? We decided to attack this subject head-on while staying true to ourselves, and writing music we love to hear. Creating the content for ourselves and if people like it, right on!”
Other themes the band touches on are the creative process of making music, the constant criticism musicians face, the pressure put on them, the constant questions thrown their way and more.
One of the highlights of the album would have to be the track “Post ta shit.” While mainly written about being a musician, the song is also relatable within many other domains. It discusses society’s problematic obsession with and reliance on social media and how these days there is a specific recipe for success—and the first ingredient is an online profile. Emphasis on actual talent and skill is slowly fading and everything we do needs to be validated by our social-media followers. In addition, professionals are busy people and often have to hire others to act as their online presence in order to keep up. And on top of all of this, “Post ta shit” is a catchy track that makes you want to dance as it goes back and forth from bouncy riffs to psychedelic breakdowns.
Another track that drives the message home is “Spread the love.” Starting off with a voice stating “Truth be told, I don’t need you,” it talks about what it is like to sell out in order to make it big. We hear the voice of a manager telling the band how they are not important, but they can find success if they just follow a few specific steps. The voice continues, saying “Ça coûte pas cher la musique fait par les robots de nos jours” [It doesn’t cost much to make music with machines today] and “Ça prend un hit” [You need a hit single]. The song takes on a dancey, pop vibe and explains how writing catchy, repetitive lyrics and using onomatopoeias seems to be the road to success today, although it comes at the expense of the musicians’ originality.
The album is likely relatable to the majority of musicians today who are just trying to get by. But above that, it is relatable to any person, creative or otherwise, trying to make it work by pursuing their passion. The struggles they face are real and challenging, but at the end of the day, it’s not all bad.
“We love what we do, and even if it is a harsh reality of being broke year round, we are rich with people’s support. We are constantly reminded of how people need us in their lives, and how we need them. We travel the world and meet the most epic people. We could never trade that for anything, not even for a spot on a TV show’s judge’s rotating chair (and the pay that comes with it!)”