Lots of supermodels get into acting, but there is not
a huge backlog on supermodel singers. In fact, Carla Bruni is only the
third I can think of. The history is kind of hit or miss, too.
Naomi Campbell's album was pretty unbearable, but Milla Jovovich's The
Divine Comedy was a surprisingly good Kate Bush pastiche.
Carla Bruni makes sense to be in the music world,
though, if only because some of her exes include the likes of Mick Jagger
and Eric Clapton. (Okay, granted, it isn't that rare for a model to
hang out with rock stars...) The nice surprise is that her debut album
isn't exactly a rock album, it's more a Gallic coffee house folk vibe, and
it's pretty terrific.
Bruni, who was born in Italy but grew up in France,
writes all of her songs in her native tongue of French. She doesn't
have an overpowering voice, but it has a gentle soothing quality to it, her
vocals caress the words of songs like the quiet acoustic title track like a
lover. "Tout le Monde" is a lovely ballad that throbs with understated
pain.
The one slight complaint I may have of the album is
that the mix of Bruni's husky voice and subtle acoustic guitar picking and a
small, dedicated but unobtrusive backing unit does cause a bit of
sameness in the general sound. It is nice when she changes up the
sound a bit like in the beat poetic shuffle of "Raphaël" or the sixties
Lovin' Spoonful vibe of "Le Plus Beau du Quartier."
Quelqu'Un Ma Dit is not just a model's vanity
product. Carla Bruni may just have a new career now.
