Label : Prophecy Productions
Review by Luisa Mercier
Les Discrets with Alcest and other bands are one of the main representatives of the French shoegaze scene that has produced so many masterpieces in the last decade. They are the masters of mixing black metal and post-rock influences with more ambient, melancholic atmospheres. After the first releases, the sound has become mellower with time (last Alcest record “Les Voyages De L’Âme” is the proof), but on the contrary of most reviewers I did appreciate the change. In my opinion, it is just the evidence of the normale evolution that every musical genre undergoes as time passes by. Fursy Teyssier, the mind if the band and very good drawer thinks of music as a mean to take a trip, to explore new worlds and letting his message get to the listener, through tracks that are much less extreme than those composed by Alcest. “La Traversée” is a clear example, it is a track completely sung by a Tersy and Audrey in a dreamy duet, through more acoustic and more rock moments. “Ariettes Oubliées” is a record which aim is to let yourself dream through the guitars that sometimes cradle you as a mother with her baby or sometimes rise in an emotional crescendo that will take you by your hand and lead you through the music. The only risk of this album is boredom, but I think it is a risk that is quite related to post-rock. After two-three tracks it might seem that there is no variety, even though there are tracks like “La Nuit Muette” that are more up-tempo and positive. So, I can say that this record definetely is not for everyone: only for lovers of highly inspiring and conceptually complicated music. Lovers of metal (extreme metal especially) be far from “Ariettes Oubliées”.
Rating – 70/100
Tracklist
- Linceul d’hiver
- La traversée
- Le Mouvement perpétuel
- Ariettes oubliées I: Je devine travers un murmure…
- La nuit muette
- Au Creux de l’hiver
- Après l’ombre
- Les regrets
Line Up
- Audrey Hadorn – Vocals & Lyrics
- Winterhalter – Drums
- Fursy Teyssier – Guitars, Bass, Vocals & Visuals
Links
MySpace * Facebook * Twitter * Site