#unclouded

Take “Eyes Closed,” for instance, a buoyant soap bubble of psychedelia floating above racket-y, break-beat drums and a hammering pulse of soul bass. It’s delicate and meaty all at once, flaring with noise at the intervals but effortless and cool. Or consider, the string-swooning “In the Stars,” as soft and yielding as a Beach House track but braced by thunderous percussion.

You can’t help but flash on the Yé-yé years as you hear Unclouded, imbued as it is with that peculiarly French combination of seduction and purity. Yet there’s more rock in the mix than in France Gall’s synth-funky “Ella,” a propulsive scratch and friction that never touched Sylvie Vartan’s songs. Prochet fits better among latter-day interpreters of 1960s, Euro-swing, especially Jessica Pratt, who also mixes rock with lounge-y sophistication and also instills a very modern air of empowerment into this female-centric (but not historically female-autonomous) form. The vocals on cuts like “The House That Doesn’t Exist” may be soft and high, but the melody slashes forward with determination and force. Even the Nico-esque whisper psyche of “Flowers Turn Into Gold” exudes intention. Daydream soft sonics swirl in clouds around Prochet’s mic, but she, herself, is wide awake and in control.