And whilst we’re on the subject of ‘not metal’… this is an interesting one. Les Discret’s affecting and pastoral 2010 debut ‘Septembre et Ses Dernières Pensées’ was generally considered to be ‘not metal’, as much by its creators than anyone else – so much so to the point whereby the band do not even have an entry on Metal Archives. This always puzzled me – owing a great debt to Alcest (inevitably, given mainman Fursy Teyssier’s close associations with Neige) and taking swathes of early-mid Katatonia, the album was a much a post-black metal record as a straight-up Shoegaze album. Let’s put it another way – Slowdive certainly didn’t use as much distortion as these introspective Frenchmen.
Which makes this follow-up even more interesting as, to put it simply, there’s a lot more metal here. The debut was good but perhaps suffered in the shadows of Alcest’s stirring ‘Escailles de Lune’ released quickly afterwards. It won’t be the case this time I fear – whilst Alcest’s most recent offering is puzzlingly flat, Ariettes Oubliées ups the ante considerably for Les Discrets.
It’s darker, bumpier, more varied and involved than its predecessor, exploring more adventurous territory whilst retaining the intrinsic reflective ambience of before. The first track proper ‘La Traversée’ lurches into a surprising 6/8 gallop, guitars strumming furiously and walks a gamut of stylings throughout its length, culminating in a suitably satisfying, glittering blast-beat finale. The flow of the dynamics at points is sublime – insistent bass & guitar strum that closes ‘Ariettes Oubliées I: Je Devine à Travers un Murmure’ a case in point – whilst some of the melodies practically soar (‘Le Mouvement Perpétuel’s main refrain chimes wonderfully). Fursy’s vocals are pleasantly understated, almost a gentle wash of echoing sound that drifts in an ambient fashion behind the music.
Demonstrating a distinct evolution of the ideas explored on their debut, it is wholeheartedly satisfying to report that Ariettes Oubliées represents a real step-up for this band. Whilst some of their contemporaries are in danger of becoming bogged down in a rather wishy-washy ‘post black metal’ tarpit (which they ironically blazed a trail for in the first place), Les Discrets seem to have deftly sidestepped this encroaching homogeneity by focusing very much on their own approach. Opaque, poetic and unashamedly arty, if Les Discrets are still claiming to not be a metal band then this is certainly the heaviest shoegaze album I’ve ever heard.
(8/10 – Frank Allain)
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