With the release of ‘Juillet’, Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana make good on the promise of their album ‘Lost & Found’ (2018, Trouble In Mind), diligently crafting a set of ten songs that shimmer, glide and sway with a sophistication only hinted at by their debut.

Recorded by Vincent Hivert and Alexis Fugain over the course of one week at Studio Claudio, an isolated studio in rural France, “Juillet” is the sound of a band reshaping itself, adapting to numerous transitions both within the band (‘Juillet’ is the first recording with current guitarist Maxence Tomasso) and in life. Primary lyricist & front person Margaux Bouchaudon says “I tend to consider it as a journey towards acceptation of losses (would they be friends, lovers or dreams through death, departure or disillusion…) but also towards self respect and independence.” Indeed many of the songs on “Juillet” feel hopeful, despite their melancholic tone, lacing a lilting melody or triumphant trumpet swell (courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Camille Fréchou) or charging guitar riffs from Tomasso or Bouchaudon. Famed French engineer Dominique Blanc-Francard mastered the whole affair with a deft hand, coaxing the subtleties of the mix without sacrificing its sonic whallop.