𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲 : "𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙁𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨"

 

This band from France plays a 90s-influenced take on burly indie rock. Sonically,, it finds its place between shoegaze acts like the Catherine Wheel, and post-hardcore/alternative acts along the lines of Failure and Hum. Plaintive vocal weave over the fuzzed-out bass lines, and angular guitar jangle that intersects on the opening track "Avoider". I went into this knowing nothing about the band, but the first song works well enough for me to stick around and listen to more. "Desire Path" has a more Cure-like path, and vocals are sung with a breathy emotion behind them. The moodier vibes work for me here. Almost predictably,, they stomp on their distortion pedals. They have both dynamics and melody in play,, so that is half the battle. 

The woozy guitar effects you expect from shoe-gaze surface going into "Here the Mermaids Play". There are more nuanced guitar licks than what you normally get from this sort of thing, which helps set them apart. "Rituals" has more momentum as the drums give it more drive. There is also an underlying aggression to the riff's attack. Things begin to find a more grungy jangle on "Silhouettes". There is a more morose mood here that works for me more than even the previous song. The vocals are oddly dry for a great deal of the album,, though the production tricks on them here work well. There is more of a slacker strum to "Red Herring". The vocals come in softer, electronic elements ate introduced, as you might begin to suspect the sessions for this album might not have been as organic as the albums from the 90s. It's a weird turn for the album.

"Skins Make One" is another turn in a more shoegazing direction. The almost whispered vocals slowly drift to the front of the mix.  The guitar tones that create the wall of sound lead you into an impressive. It works off a similar formula to what Deftones use these days. "Bleeding at the Door' has more of  indie rock feel, but coming from a more post-hardcore place. They ebb back down into sheogaze for "Origami", and by this point I am beginning to feel like their ppst-hardcore leaning songs are more original as this is a little more in Deftones zip-code again. The last song 'My Lips Taste Like the Ocean" rides the line between the two genre's , Overall this album is an impressive display of these 90s sounds being fused into songs that would have worked then and still resonate today. I will give this a 9.5.

pst147