There’s something quietly radical about an artist who learns sound production mid-career just to gain full control of their vision. Catherine Dagenais releases her second album, Sauver les meubles, today, a collection that sits comfortably between indie-folk intimacy and pop songcraft, co-produced with Philippe B and shaped by her newfound technical autonomy.
The album follows two advance singles, “Avant que le fleuve nous avale” and “Les hécatombes”, both of which hinted at the record’s central preoccupation: mourning, healing, and the stubborn refusal of time to do its work. It’s a theme that runs through the 11 tracks, balanced between tenderness and unvarnished truth. Opening track “En dormance” strips things down to classical guitar and fragility, mourning the end of a relationship where someone simply opts out. Meanwhile, “Avant que le fleuve nous avale” offers a rare moment of lightness, a rock-tinged road song accompanied by a video featuring Gaspé footage shot on an old handycam, mixed with photography by visual artist Geneviève Dagenais.
The title track, written first, centres on a metaphor of salvaging what matters from a burning relationship. “Table rase”, featuring Philippe B on vocals, traces a romance crumbling across seasons. “Tes remparts” works as a lullaby for social anxiety. The album closes with “Ce qu’il nous reste à faire”, recorded in one take in an empty apartment post-separation, the room’s echo lending it a stark, unguarded quality.
Dagenais credits Philippe B as the ideal collaborator, someone who understood her folk-indie pop instincts while refining both lyrics and sound design. Her decision to learn production herself allowed her to co-produce the record and handle arrangements independently, a level of creative control that shows in the album’s careful attention to texture and mood. She’ll launch Sauver les meubles January 29th at Lion d’Or, with tickets on sale November 1st.
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