Val Synth Unleashed: Flora Fishbach Thrives in Her Synthetic Obsessions

“I’m almost expecting a flop rather than a hit. It would almost reassure me, since I thrive on making comebacks,” Flora Fishbach predicted with a smile at the release of her second album, Avec les yeux (2022). Three years on, the Ardennes singer, who has since prefixed her stage name with her first name, has switched both her record label and booking agent, a clear indicator of the lackluster success of Avec les yeux, an album that was nonetheless vivid and radiant.

Now known as Flora Fishbach (still omitting the second “c” from her legal surname), she sings in her opening track over an ancient synthetic riff, “Give me back my life/Give me my eternal life/Give me back my life/That little laugh that brings the sun,” echoing her already classic Dans un fou rire.

A boldly embraced reckless character

Determined to follow her own path, the charismatic thirty-something imagines diving into the depths like Jean Reno, the other hero of Le Grand Bleu, who responds to her in a vocal tone reminiscent of Sébastien Tellier on My God Is Blue: “Flora, what are you talking about/Wake up, you’re better than this”.

Compactly delivered in eight tracks and less than half an hour, the aptly named Val Synth sees Flora Fishbach flourishing in her synthetic obsession and multiplying collaborations, from lyricists (Arthur Navellou from Catastrophe, Martin Rahim) to composers (Gary Agletiner, Michael Declerck, already a musician and co-producer of Avec les yeux).

In Fishbach’s echo chamber, where vocalizations blend with reverberated sounds, she explores themes such as Free Meryl Streep, Mischief (in two parts), La Machiavela (a short, freewheeling track), and Dulcimers.

In My Boyfriend, the most touching song on the album, she candidly addresses her reckless nature: “I could have done anything/But luckily you were there/I could have gone off alone/Crashed into a lime tree”. While it doesn’t deliver the raw shock of À ta merci (2017) nor the evocative power of Avec les yeux (2022), Val Synth carves out a middle path that already hints at new dance tracks for Fishbach.

Val Synth (Creature/Idol). Released on September 12. Live at the Machine du Moulin Rouge, Paris, on September 18.