Review: Sebastien Tellier – Domesticated

Sebastien Tellier has returned with his sixth album Domesticated, which is his first LP in six years, aside from his scorings for films and television in that time.

Words by Jack Squibb

The Eurovision 2008 contestant is one of the most prolific artists in France and after scoring for TV series and films since the release of his last album L’Aventura in 2014, there’ll have been a weight of expectation on Tellier to deliver with his latest offering, Domesticated.

When Tellier revealed the details of the album earlier this year, he described the album as a way of making the mundanity of everyday chores something more extraordinary:

“Domestication is a universal subject, an experience we all go through,” he explained. “It’s about transforming the everyday into something extraordinary.

“I wanted to talk about how we are prisoners to domestic chores because, for humans, life doesn’t exist if we don’t endeavour. Life is a permanent struggle, and domestic chores are at the centre of that battle.”

And while Sebastien aimed to make the dull more extraordinary, it seemed to be a step too far for the Frenchman.

Some tracks, like the lead single ‘A Ballet’ or ‘Oui’ are poignant yet the majority of the album feels more like it’s made to play in the background while you wind down after completing a collection of chores. There’s rarely a moment where Domestication jumps out and grabs the attention of the listener.

There are moments of vibrancy, like during ‘Domestic Tasks’, made for late night festival slots where everyone is on the same level and thrive of the sounds swarming the tent as strobes flicker all around. Same with the final tracks of the record, ‘Hazy Feeling’ and ‘Won’, where the 80s electro pop sound is at it’s best.

However, with almost the entirety of Domesticated, Tellier could have left vocals off the album entirely and end up with more impact than the end product delivered.

Six years waiting for another full-length record and it feels that Sebastien Tellier has missed the mark this time around.