I absolutely had to review this before hearing a single note as this Polish band featuring members of Sauron and Misanthropic Rage have conceptually tackled a subject very close to my heart. Lore Fournier and Anne de Boissy are two far from innocent convent school girls in Joël Séria’s somewhat obscure and completely wonderful 1971 film ‘Mais ne nous délivrez pas du mal’ aka ‘And Don’t Deliver Us From Evil.’ These best friends are incredibly close and despite their religious upbringing have taken a pact to “renounce forever Jesus Christ and all his works and dedicate themselves to Satan for all eternity.” This they do causing no small amount of mischief in their Gallic environment using their burgeoning sexuality as a destructive weapon causing ruination for all those morally reprehensible characters who stupidly fall for their feminine whiles. It really is a gem of a movie and I took great delight in re-watching it again prior to covering this EP. As a footnote it is available on import DVD via Mondo Macabro and is well worth seeking out.
The album starts with the hymnal organ work of the film’s main theme and once we get to lyrics they are all from the poems of Charles Baudelaire which are integral to the movie itself especially ‘The Flowers Of Evil’ at its stunning finale. Musically summing this up is a far harder task especially as after this theme we get a scant minute or so to get to grips with the sound of this trio as the spectre of ‘The Ghost’ is quickly wrapped up in a quick and violent thrash laden tumult. Things are more clearly defined with The Sadness Of The Moon (Tristesses de la Lune) where the retro 70’s and classic doom elements unveil themselves. The lyrics are naturally poetic and musically this much slower track reminds although it is a Polish band singing in French of Italian cult artists such as Tony Tears, Paul Chain and Steve Sylvester. Bass is highly defined and this musically meanders with flowing leads and solemn gravity whilst it changes in a choppy and convoluted fashion. It’s all rather strange and dreamy a bit like the imagery invoked in the film as you will see playing the video clip below. Doom and prog rock advocates will no doubt be in their element as it reaches a pompous finale. Communion is taken sample wise before ‘Echoes (Correspondances)’ giddily canters off with vocals theatrically warbling away. The central lurch of the melody latches into your head and won’t let go, it’s all quite odd and unique. No doubt due to the use of Baudelaire I have the feeling that someone is crawling over my grave and have to think of early Christian Death and Rozz Williams invoking a Catastrophe Ballet; the surrealism is certainly implicit.
‘The Living Torch (Le Flambeau vivant)’ sways gently in and lulls the listener into calm before an almost folky progressive motif sets the track slowly afire, the musicianship veers on the experimental and there are plenty of ideas going on here and for a listener not aware of all the composite parts it may well be a difficult and challenging listen going over their heads. As for the finale Man And The Sea (L’Homme et la mer) perhaps you are best watching the film, the ending of which it takes a brief sample from and drenching yourself with the wicked musical accompaniment as you unravel both yarns.
(7/10 Pete Woods)
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