LUNA & The Gents – “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier”
LUNA & The Gents – “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier” – Single Review
“Swinging Vintage Pop” – now that’s an interesting new genre I haven’t heard of yet.
Most of you reading no I have no use for genres and such…so believe me when I tell ya, if you can somehow pique my interest with whichever label you’ve chosen for your music, I’m definitely going to check it out. I read “Swinging Vintage Pop” in the band’s official biography, and thought to myself, ‘that’s pretty damn specific…so like…I mean, for once, this is what the music actually has to sound like, right?’ And I was pleasantly surprised to find that it truly was! No lies detected, “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier” does indeed, sound exactly like what you’d likely think “Swinging Vintage Pop” would be.
Anyhow. This is quality stuff here! I’m genuinely impressed by what I hear in this new single from LUNA & The Gents. For a brief second on the way in, I thought they were about to do some kind of take on the megahit “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS, but that subsided pretty quickly. I suppose it was just the one piece of the bass line that seemed comparable, but even if you feel like it’s a similar moment in music or not, I think we can all agree that it’s quite an enticing intro to “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier,” ain’t it? You can hear the remarkable clarity in the production right away, which as I understand it, comes from a man named Leendert van Stipriaan, aka STIP. The more you read about LUNA & The Gents, the more you realize the incredibly significant role that STIP plays in bringing their sound to life…essentially, he serves not only as their producer, but also as their main songwriter, their manager, and also as a studio musician when it’s called for as well. From what I’ve gathered, STIP has unearthed a whole bunch of material that he has been hoping to release one day, but never had the right vehicle to get the songs out there into the world – and that’s precisely where LUNA & The Gents come in. With their expressive sound and unique style of Swinging Vintage Pop, they immediately became the right musical vessel to get songs like “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier” out into the world at long last. And I suppose, here we are.
So there you have it…you’re all caught up on their story…now all you have to do is listen!
Alright, it’s fair to say there’s always more to the story, isn’t there? This whole band is great at what they do, and they all deserve credit for how well “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier” came out in the end. You’ve got the stunning vocals of singer Evelyne Péquignot, who somewhat expectedly, sounds stellar from the start to finish in this single. I say somewhat expectedly, because she teaches vocals outside of her time in LUNA & The Gents, so it really does kind of make sense that we should be expecting the excellence that she goes on to provide. I do think there’s probably an interesting question about whether or not there’s a song here without her, you know what I mean? Even with the band playing flawlessly, and the writing being as good as it is…it feels like it would be impossible to say this song would be nearly as strong as it is without her enchanting performance on the microphone. She’s an essential ingredient to “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier,” and certainly to the band overall, as I’m sure they would all agree. I really like what she brought to this single though…she sings in a beautifully elegant, classy way that perfectly suits this genre of Swinging Vintage Pop and really embodies the sound you’d be hoping to find. As far as the band surrounding her is concerned, I’m basically just as enthusiastic, even though the low-key energy & gentle melody of a song like “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier” isn’t likely going to generate the kind of excitement that’ll make you jump up & down, you feel me? The Gents all bring their A-game and a high level of professionalism that can’t be missed…and that’s what really matters. From the sparkling guitars of Matthias van Stipriaan, to the smooth & steady bass from Rainer Schudel, to the subtle details added in by Yves de Groot, and the seamless drums & percussion elements contributed by Andy Lang, they check all the right boxes for a win with their new single, and they do it all sounding completely unified as a band. As in, sure, there are standout aspects you could pinpoint from each musician in LUNA & The Gents, but what makes them really great as a band, is how stellar they sound together. This is not a case of one individual’s talent carrying the rest of the team – what they’ve achieved and what you hear on “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier,” is the results of having a whole band that’s built and designed with its own remarkable balance of strengths from the music to the microphone. Heck, if you’ve read everything I’ve been writing here, you know they’ve even got strengths beyond that, which carry all the way to the roots of the material & the magic that STIP brings to the band from behind the studio boards!
So yep…I’m more than happy to endorse this dreamy sound they’ve got goin’ on here – I really enjoyed this single, and I’d definitely listen to more from LUNA & The Gents in the future. I do think there’s an element of the sound of Swinging Vintage Pop that’s probably a little bit dependent on the mood we’re in…but I dunno…I’m sure that there are many people out there that would likely consider this delicate style of music to be everyday listening as well. Video-wise, I went a little back & forth about it…I love the extremely clean and clear look it has…and I loved the band shots as well. Evelyne is gorgeous of course, but she spends a significant amount of time staring straight at us down the barrel of the lens, and I ain’t gonna lie, that was a bit unnerving, like she’s singing directly to each of us as individuals…but don’t get me wrong, it was still enjoyable too. I watched “Je Ne Peux Pas T’Oublier” and the very first thing I thought was that I’d immediately pull up a chair at this bar, sit down, and continue to listen all night long. LUNA & The Gents have their own special bond as a band, and it’s something you can hear.
Find out more about LUNA & The Gents from their official sites below!
Main Website: https://lunaandthegents.ch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Luna-The-Gents/61551418296116
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luna.andthegents
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luna.the.gents
Multi-link: https://linktr.ee/lunaandthegents
Fun fact – did you know some of the most capable minds and amazing musicians you’ve ever known STILL can’t find the best way to submit their music to us? You’d think it’d be easy, given that it’s right there on the main page of our site, yet the battle still continues! Click here to be the next up on our pages – it’s really that simple!
