Emmanuelle Parrenin was part of France’s folk movement in the late 1960s; her popularity and sense of style led some to call her France’s version of Sandy Denny and Mandy Morton. Maison Rose is her last album, released in 1977, and generally considered her best, with delicate, multitracked ballads that range from lush folk to more experimental pieces heavy on percussion. Her mixing of folk and the avant-garde brings to mind Brigitte Fontaine, while her ethereal prettiness evokes the likes of Vashti Bunyan and Linda Perhacs. But Parrenin is a sui generis through and through, and Maison Rose captures her at her best.

Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.