On November 13, Bébé La La—the singing/songwriting duo of Alicia Ultan (vocals, guitar, viola) and Maryse Lapierre (vocals, harmonium)—will celebrate the duo’s 10th anniversary two years late with a CD release party for their new album, A Curious Series of Unexpected Events. They’ll be joined by Micky Patten (bass); Joe Chellman (drums); Alicia’s twin, cellist Jacqueline Ultan (coming in from Minneapolis); Laura DiMauro (guitar); and other guest artists. It may be two years later than planned, but it’s worth the wait.

The follow-up to their award-winning 2015 release, High Wire (reviewed here), A Curious Series of Unexpected Events has already produced an award-winning single, “Rosie,” and the new album, produced by Bébé La La and John Wall and recorded at his Wall of Sound studio, delivers on the single’s promise.

A number of the album’s songs have been on Bébé La La’s set lists for a while, but the duo took advantage of the studio to deepen the musical experience. Delivered at a slightly slower tempo than on stage, the studio versions allow the songs to breathe easier. Several guests artists, some of whom will appear at the release party, collaborated on the recording, and the added instrumentation—from sitar to cello, trombone and trumpet to zampoñas and charango—produces a wider range of textures and expression than typically possible live.

At bottom, though, it’s the distinctive songwriting and the ear-pleasing vocals that make the album go. All but one of the tracks come from Ultan’s pen, and she addresses a number of current topics, from climate change (“Step Back,” with an interlude at the faerie gathering, and “Magic Hour”) to pandemic disruptions (“One Minute at a Time”) to racial animus (“Remember,” a haunting plea that George Floyd’s death not be forgotten), as well as more personal concerns (“Slow Down and Listen”). “Bébé La La” (words by Lapierre and music by the duo) delivers a bracing confrontation with lovelessness.

Earworms abound, and the inescapable melodies are animated by beguiling vocal harmonies and the complementary way the voices of Ultan and Lapierre interlock sonically. They take advantage of the studio to braid multiple voices (or violas) in places, to heart-swelling effect.

The album opens with an atmospheric instrumental of viola and voice that serves as a portal through which the listener passes from the everyday world to the heightened reality of the song world. It’s a clue that the listener should look deeper, past the surface of things. That message is explicit in “Rosie,” the story of an encounter with a charming and challenged young woman coming down the mountain from Treasure Falls:

Treasure Falls
Nature’s walls
Calling us to see
Far beyond what we know
What we think we need

You’ll find that theme recurring again and again until you are asked to “Remember,” before being shuttled back through the portal, carrying to your everyday world a bit of wisdom from the spunky, sassy, and classy Bébé La La.

AMP Concerts Presents
Bébé La La — A CD Release Celebration!
A Curious Series of Unexpected Events
Sunday, November 13, 2022, 7:00 p.m.
FUSION Theater, 708 1st St. NW, Abq
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 day of show (includes all service charges)
AMP Concerts.org or by phone at Hold My Ticket, 505-886-1251.

Check out the limited-edition T-shirts and 
fridge magnets at the Musically Speaking store.
Your support is much appreciated.

© 2022 Mel Minter