ALCEST – Ecailles de lune CD
Prophecy Productions
Well it’s been a few years now since the idea of shoegazer influenced black metal, or what I so affectionately call “black metal for coffeehouse worms”, has raised its corpse painted heroin chic face. Still the more I delve into listening to these releases for review the less I think black metal is the case. I keep picturing some haggard looking long hair with raccoon eyes clutching a LUSH LP hoping to one day have it signed by the band. So it must be obvious when Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde came out in 2007 I was not one of those who got dry mouth from over salivating upon it. The fact is I called it what it was, post black metal for indie rockers who hate black metal. I wasn’t part of the scene police who denounced it as blasphemy to black metal which is kind of an oxymoron. I just pointed out that it was perfect music for people striving for enlightenment because achieving conciseness is too high a goal.
So it’s been a couple of years and Neige, we meet again for another round of music for people in a vegetative state. Don’t get me wrong I have plenty of respect for Neige and his previous work while in PESTE NOIRE. As far as his other side project AMESOEURS, that was straight forward JOY DIVISION worship which didn’t invoke suicidal tendencies. I was a sucker for those feminine vocals ala Audrey Sylvain singing in French on their debut full length from last year even if it was recycled post punk. But on here it seems Neige has surpassed his experimenting stage into shoegazer music and now is a full blown convert. While listening to the opening cuts, “Ecailles de Lune Parts one & two” I couldn’t help but envision myself lying in a hospital bed with a thorazine drip in both arms as well as my temples. The ethereal fart sounds were being piped in from a speaker above my head. Although the climax has some appeal. Some of the other cuts, for example “Solar Song”, have that unmistakable MY BLOODY VALENTINE swirling of floor pedal induced noise and floating on dry ice crystals vocals. “Sur L’ocean Couleur De Fer” is so down right lovely that I’m sure some over caffeinated post graduate dude will place this on the mix CD he makes for the tattooed female barrista he’s secretly in love with but doesn’t know is a lesbian. That’s ok since the authorities will find the original CD still playing when they finally find his body hanging in his college dorm room.
Ecailles de lune will probably be on some end of year best of lists by people in the business of music media which it should. It’s shoegazer to the hilt which is fine if you’re into the revival. But for me as more and more bands progress further away from the metal template then it shouldn’t even be looked upon as part of a metal genre anymore. Trying to create sub genres in order to have some sort of extreme credibility is a foolish pursuit. I think bands like this should be judged on what they are and not how to fit them into flattering pigeon holes. The same thing happened in the 90s when certain black metal bands started experimenting away from the genre. In the end they finally admitted that their music wasn’t black metal anymore. Maybe the present day metal journalist crowd who were raised on alternative rock will finally accept their musical birthright. It’s alternative as in not the real thing.
www.prophecyproductions.de
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