In 2016 Ray LaMontagne once again threw everyone off guard with Ouroboros. Not really surprising coming from someone who could never quite be put in a specific genre with his blend of haunted folk à la Nick Drake, southern soul, refined blues and classic rock. With this sixth album created with Jim James from the band My Morning Jacket, the songwriter from New Hampshire provided a new piece to his stylistic puzzle. Ouroboros featured the markers of his previous album while bringing a new dreamy, almost psychedelic touch, straight out of an old Pink Floyd record. LaMontagne had never sounded so haunted and dreamlike… Two years later, Part Of Light takes him back to more roots and classical considerations: an heir to Cat Stevens rather than David Gilmour. This seventh opus is above all else carried by an impressive spiritual force. An impulse wrapped in a sound full of reverberation, giving his songs more power. And splendour. © Clotilde Maréchal/Qobuz