MUSIC REVIEW: DOMINIQUE FILS-AIMÉ – NAMELESS

Award-winning Quebec singer-songwriter Dominique Fils-Aime’s resonating sound has been capturing the depth of blues, jazz and soul for over a decade now. The opening of her second album Nameless filters in an acapella beginning where Fils-Aime layers in vocal harmonies, where one melody joins another, producing a concert of sounds. The opening track is “Strange Fruit,” a cover song previously sung by Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. With a rather minimalistic approach, Fils-Aime layers in what sounds like a collection of voices one over another. 

On the album, you gradually see the artist slowly filling in the sounds with some hand-picked instruments. For example, “Birds” starts out with percussive finger snapping. Once Fils-Aime’s vocals arrive, the sound of bass sends out a very chill vibe. The sparseness continues on such tracks like “Sleepy” and “Nameless” where Fils-Aime’s vocals continue to be the centerpiece to these soulful bluesy numbers.

Nameless closes with the cover of “Feeling Good,” another track that focuses solely on vocals. By bookending her album with two covers, Fils-Aime shows how previous iconic blues singers have gone on to inspire and influence her sound. Her originals demonstrate to us that she has a voice of her own, creating compositions that both feel fresh and recognizable all at once. While Fils-Aime does cover a lot of ground with her originals, her soulful renditions of past hits also pay homage to earlier generations who have gone on to inform her sound in a powerful way. The past and present come alive on Fils-Aime’s dynamic and one-of-a-kind album. Nameless shows an artist perfectly at home in front of the mic and at complete ease in her own skin. Her natural talent shines through on this release. Compelling from start to finish, I look forward to seeing more soon.