I'm Sorry Forever and for Always

On this debut album, Vitaminsforyou lays down his understated way of building a pop song. From his shy processed voice to his makeshift beats, simple keyboard chords, and sketchy melodies, everything has the home-brewed quality of bedroom electronica — that is, except for the production, a few steps above your run-of-the-mill amateur. Vitaminsforyou's modus operandi is rather simple: a phrase or chorus repeated over and over, lush and shifting electronic backgrounds, catchy melodic fragments to keep the piece grounded, and a flair for genuine cuteness. "It's Only Snow - It's Only Sunshine" features one of the most developed sets of lyrics on the album and is also one of the best tracks: groovy and hook-laden. But what gives the album its flavor is the triptych "Écologie + Histoire": its last part features as its only lyric the title sentence. "Churchill" is surprisingly bouncy, but once again brought down by the repetitiveness of the lyrics. The CD contains an untitled and unannounced 12th track, the longest by far at 16 minutes. After a lengthy introduction of domestic recordings and finger cymbals (an unconvincing attempt at experimentation), the piece opens on a beautiful song with an extensive set of lyrics and a few twists that take it from acoustic guitar ballad to electronic sound construction. And the appeal of I'm Sorry for Ever and for Always lies in this in-between of acoustic and electronic, melody and pattern, sweet and sour. Listening to this album, one gets the feeling that Vitaminsforyou can do better, but it makes a decent first proposition. ~ François Couture, Rovi