Cumbia Loops

There is no question that Benjamin Biolay is heir to Serge Gainsbourg's nouvelle chanson throne. Five of his previous six albums have re-created it in his own image, using everything from canny angular pop, punk, and skittering Euro funk to electro, Saravah soul, cafe jazz, and ye-ye while remaining devoted to the sophisticated gospel of Gainsbourg. Palermo Hollywood is a trademark Biolay album, chock-full of his irony, wicked wit, offbeat sensuality, and irresistible, catchy melodies and arrangements. But it is also something other. Most of it was cut in the Buenos Aires district the album was titled after, a haunt for many ex-pat Europeans amid glorious old world architecture and subterranean street life. Biolay has a small apartment there. Using Argentine musicians as well as his usual stable in France, he delivers many of these songs with a new array of rhythms that include cumbia and tango.