Finalising another fantastic year for French label Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions, this album made it through the snow and postal strikes just in time to ensure my days at the end of it are pale ones. Naturally it has been on constant rotation since it arrived and has been very gratefully received as a companion piece to 2021 album Éclosion. The story does not quite start there though as before that the band led by Aorlhac front-man Spellbound was spawned by forerunning act Asphodèle. They released an album called Jours Pâles and after that for whatever reason quickly combusted, hence Jours Pâles themselves were born. Hopefully you are still following because I am still trying to work things out myself but since their debut “hatchling.” It would appear that Spellbound has got a completely new troupe of musicians around him, meaning Christian Larsson (ex Shining Swe) for one is no longer playing. One can only gather from this that Spellbound strives for perfection in his work and is perhaps not the easiest person to work with when it comes to continued involvement.
Musically this is thankfully very much in the same mould to its forerunner. As soon as opener ‘Jour de pluie, jour de fête’ takes us into a rainy-day holiday the melodic guitar weave and bouncing drums put an instant smile on my face. Despite subject matter this is far from a wet weekend, sure there is a certain amount of aggression behind it delivered in a musical post-black, post-punk style but its so damn upbeat it puts a big beaming grin on your face as its warmth spreads. Part of this is due to the fantastic twisting turning melodies and the other due to the singer’s voice which is most definitely spell-binding. I’ve probably said this before but his up-front and energised delivery is really distinctive and forceful. A sampled voice that sounds like it has come from a radio transmission adds further intrigue and acts as a feminine counterfoil and notes glisten and sparkle like sunbeams breaking through that rain. Loads happens during this hours’ worth of fantastic songs, nothing stands still for a second continuing in the vein of the epic opener. Stomp heavy bombast provides a rhythmic thrust on ‘Saint-Flour nostalgie’ and rage joins in with swift flurries of fury, the vocals rising to indignant squawks. Naturally not being a French speaker there is a certain amount of mystery about it all but on the whole that doesn’t seem to matter so much, perhaps later I will look for more insight. Besides tracks that seethe and are literally “Foaming with rage” kind of speak for themselves and the swagger and vitriol sweeps you away whatever the language.
New guitarist Alexis puts in some fantastic work, the twitchy energy and progressive interplay on the title track clearly shows this as it peels away, soloing for a while before the singer hawks up his vocal distastes and the drums add a jaunty pogo inducing beat. After having been nothing short of frantic for half the album it’s only on ‘Saturnienne lassitude,’ which as suggested adds a certain amount of weariness and depressiveness comes into the equation. At least it allows legs to stop twitching like crazy for a while. Speaking of a Depressed Mode we get their and Shape Of Despair singer Natalie Koskinen popping up for a guest spot on ‘Ode à la vie (chanson pour Aldérica)’ draping it in a shroud of gorgeous melancholia. Still, this is not an album of misery serenades and more a case of sticking two fingers up at it all. Finishing with autumnal delight of ‘Les feuilles tombent’ guitar work suggesting the falling of leaves and the vocals cleanly chanting the feel of rebirth is left hanging in the air, the cycle will repeat. It certainly will do for me too as this will still be playing well into the New Year.
(8.5/10 Pete Woods)
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