An Pierlé & Withe Velvet @ AB

She is one of the most intriguing current Belgian performers, and we've known that here since the Rock Rally of '96 (after which, however, she was mostly to be seen in Bernadetje, the spectacular play). Meanwhile we're now three albums further: the then long awaited debut 'Mud Stories' in '99, the confirmation with 'Helium Sunset' in '02 and this year the cheerful and successful 'An Pierlé & White Velvet' (on Pias) which balances between chanson, pop and psychedelica. So in full it is indeed 'An Pierlé & White Velvet', as the girl from Antwerp who once so bravely debuted alone has Koen Gisen as steady artistic partner at the moment and can count on sufficient fine voiced accompaniment. 'How Does It Feel' is the current striking single, but in the past there were also 'specials' like her version of 'Il Est Cinq Heures', 'Live Jet Set With Orchestra', or of course her version of Gary Numan's 'Are Friends Electric?'. Fortunately An Pierlé is also fantastically fickle live (and White Velvet are sharply smooth.)