Angèle: Instinct review – Belgium’s biggest star is determined to do pop differently
(RCA) Massive in her home nation but less so outside, Angèle is aided by Justice, Soulwax and Caroline Polachek in a bold bid for broader appeal – but her resultant album can be generic as well as daring As has often been pointed out, we live in an era where the traditional Anglo-American stranglehold over pop has been broken. Partly because streaming has presented listeners with a far broader choice of music than…
Key points
- Angèle releases her third album Instinct, featuring collaborations with Justice, Soulwax and Caroline Polachek.
- She is Belgium's biggest star but has not achieved broad success in the UK or other English-speaking markets.
- The album is described as both daring and generic, with highlights but also frustrating moments.
Belgian singer Angèle has released her third album, Instinct, which features collaborations with Justice, Soulwax and Caroline Polachek. The review notes that while she is massively popular in her home country, she remains less known outside Francophone markets.
The album includes more English lyrics than her previous record, Nonante-Cinq, but the review says it is not a concerted push for Anglo-American success. It is described as intermittently exciting and frustrating, with some songs standing out more than others.
Francophone pop's limited reach
The review points out that while non-English pop from Seoul, Lagos and Puerto Rico has found UK audiences, Francophone pop has not had the same success. It cites Belgian rapper Stromae, who has attracted media interest and co-signs from Kanye West and Lorde but remains a cult figure in the UK.
Angèle, whose full name is Angèle Van Laeken, began her career in 2017. Her 2018 single Tout Oublier broke Stromae's record for the most weeks at No 1 in Belgium, and her debut album went seven times platinum there. Her closest approach to UK success was featuring on Dua Lipa's 2020 single Fever, a minor hit.
What the review says
The review describes some of Angèle's music as geographically specific, citing her second album's opening track Bruxelles Je T'Aime, which praises her home city and its weather. It also notes the album touched on the possibility of Belgium dividing between French and Flemish speakers.
On Instinct, the review highlights Justice's collaboration on What You Want as a fruitful collision of rave synths and glitterbeat stomp. It calls Soulwax's contribution to Trop impressively noisy and praises Love Triangle, featuring Caroline Polachek and SebastiAn, for its discordant synthesiser arpeggio and sweaty-small-hours mood.
The review says songs like On Verra and Je Compte start conventionally before shifting gears unexpectedly. It calls the melody above the synths of Tout Décider an unequivocal earworm, but says F4ck 4ever is less diverting than its title and Dis-le's hook is tinnily annoying. Overall, it concludes the album is built for cherrypicking highlights rather than end-to-end listening, and while it may appeal to left-field pop fans, it does not predict a broader shift in perceptions.
