This week saw Loïc Nottet drop his sophomore album, Sillygomania. His debut, Selfocracy, became a success and gained critical acclaim; it was one album we are still loving today, but will his second studio album live up to his first?
Loïc Nottet is best known for representing Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song “Rhythm Inside”, where he placed fourth with 217 points. Prior to Eurovision, he was a contestant on the third season of The Voice Belgique, where he came second; as for after Eurovision, he was a contestant on the sixth season of Danse avec les stars (the French version of Dancing With The Stars / Strictly Come Dancing), where he went on to win the show. He dropped his debut album Selfocracy in March 2017 which gained critical acclaim and was also named as one of our favourite albums of 2017, and now he has released his sophomore album, Sillygomania, this week.
The album was planned to be released on 20 March 2020 but was pushed back to 29 May. It contains the singles “On Fire”, “29”, “Heartbreaker”, and “Mr/Mme” as well as his Halloween side singles “Candy” and “Doctor“.
Just like his debut album, we adore this collection of tracks, so much so that we decided to delve into each one of them for this track-by-track review of the album.
Sillygomania
Opening the album up with a full-on introduction, Loïc Nottet presents his sophomore album to the world with this track. The start of the track sounds like the opening of a film, allowing the listeners to be prepared for the upcoming event, in which case is this album. He then launches into a poetic statement about the album – much like he did for Selfocracy.
On Fire
The first of the singles and it’s a tuneful track. “On Fire” is a rhythmically addicted song that is certainly a grower. Loïc Nottet impresses with his falsetto throughout, whilst the lyrics paint a brilliant narrative of strength. Read our article on the single release to learn more about the song.
Heartbreaker
Easily one of our favourites from this album, we’re glad that it was chosen as an official single. Definitely one of his strongest tracks on Sillygomania, “Heartbreaker” is an upbeat track filled with funk vibes and dance beats. Loïc Nottet impresses with his vocals as he sings about the first moments of being in love. How can you not like this one? Check out our article about the single release here.
Rosa Maria
The backing beat is rhythmically similar to Eurovision 2014 entry Teo with “Cheesecake”, but soon switches up when Loïc Nottet jumps in prepared to tell us a story. Addicting throughout, Loïc Nottet sings about being in a bad romance and warping love and lust in what seems to be a dance battle. It’s quite a metaphorical lyrical story that has flair and soul.
Liar
Strong from the get-go, “Liar” is an unapologetic anthem ready to be included on your heartbreaker playlists. Loïc Nottet clearly doesn’t like to be in a relationship with someone who lies, and this recent lie has been the last one he can take, so he’s saying goodbye to the liar in his life and deciding to walk away. His vocals overpower the backing track and can seem harsh at times, but it’s a necessity as he sings the track to his lover with hurtful anger from being lied to, turning this into one powerful track that stands out for all the right reasons, on this album.
29
From one emotional track about heartbreak to another, “29” is a ballad that feels like the after-effects of “Liar”. The lyrics delve into the end of a relationship and how they don’t want to hurt each other any more even though they still love one another. Loïc Nottet impresses to no end with this beautiful but heartbreaking song. Read our thoughts on the song and music video in our previous article.
The One
From the outset, “The One” starts off really tuneful, building and building as Loïc Nottet jumps in with his amazing voice. The song seems to continue the story from the previous songs, once again it’s unapologetic lyrically as he professes he is done with the relationship and all he sees is the hurt and the lies that are left in its wake. For an upbeat track, Loïc Nottet brings a mood and incredible vocals, making this one of our favourite tracks on the album. He means every single word of this song, and you can literally hear all his thoughts and emotions through his voice and this production of this track. If there’s one song on this album you need to listen to, it’s this one.
Doctor
Now time to interrupt the storyline that he’s been telling, with this Halloween track from 2017. “Doctor” is an interesting track and allowed us to see Loïc Nottet’s love for Halloween, and suggests the deep dark path he travelled down after the relationship ended. It’s interesting that this was added to this album and sure changes the mood of the whole album. We wrote up about “Doctor” upon its release, along with its music video.
Gun
Stripping it completely back for a full-on ballad, “Gun” is something different for this singer-songwriter and shows his versatility as an artist. It’s a sweet and honest song about loving someone and being there for them even when they don’t want you to be. He’s professing that he won’t let them push him away and that shows how much heart he has. Vocally, it’s an incredibly difficult song to sing, and we hope we get to see him perform this live, even in a video, as we’re sure it’ll be an incredibly powerful moment.
TWYM
An abbreviation title, “TWYM” stands for “The Way You Move”, which can be found in the chorus lyrics of this song. It’s an upbeat dance number, which is exciting after the last few tracks that we’ve heard. It’s has an ’80s disco vibe running throughout which brings us back to “Heartbreaker”. Full of positivity, Loïc Nottet is set to get the party started with this track, which is perfect for your pre-party playlists. This is guaranteed to get everyone moving.
Cry Out
The accumulation from all his thoughts, feelings, and emotions have been plunged into this song “Cry Out” and it’s such an honest song about needing help, crying out because of the pain and hurt that has been caused. It chills us just to listen to this song as it is relatable to so many people around the world, so many have been at this single moment where they feel lost and can’t take it any more. People are crying out every day, and Loïc Nottet has captured that moment in time.
Candy
More Halloween magic from Loïc Nottet and it’s his most-recent spooky track that was originally released as part of his Candy EP. Haunting and spooky, it’s difficult not to love this song, and if you don’t have it on your Halloween playlists, you are missing out. We also love the Hansel & Gretel inspired music video which we divulged in when we wrote up about it, last year.
Farewell
This is the penultimate song on the album and follows suit with the opening track “Sillygomania” as Loïc Nottet speaks to his listeners in another poetry-filled song where he tells of how he has been consumed with negative thoughts and how we all must dispel them, clear them out, and focus on ourselves and who we are and who we want to be. He’s so inspirational with some of these poetic speeches that we would love more of these – and hopefully, we will if he releases a third studio album, which could be a few years from now.
Mr/Mme
Acting more like a bonus track after “Farewell”, this song is his first fully-French track that he has released. “Mr/Mme” (pronounced as “Monsieur/Madame”) is a gorgeous track which sees Loïc Nottet singing in French with an on-going piano backing track. In the French language, he professes how he is not happy in this world and the way the world is, whilst he is also struggling with a variety of themes including loneliness, love, and money. It brilliant wraps up the emotional journey that he has taken us on throughout this album, Sillygomania, in a beautiful and stunning song that’s very pleasing to listen to. A music video was also released to accompany the song, check out our thoughts on the track and its visual here.
Overall, Loïc Nottet gives us his all for this album, all of his ups, all of his downs, his craziness and love for Halloween, as well as his very big heart. He opens up for the world to hear, and it feels so deep and personal, more so than Selfocracy. This album is pure art, and once again, Loïc Nottet has shown his more than just a singer-songwriter, he’s a genuine artist, and we loved being on this emotional journey with him through this album. Powerful, emotional, and impressive, Sillygomania deserves awards, accolades, and to be heard the world over.
Sillygomania is available to download and stream, right now, via Sony Music Entertainment France. This is one album we are never going to forget and we sure cannot wait to see what he does next.