Coming from Lille, France, another French band is on my menu. Their debut album “40” was released very recently, in December 2015, and I was wondering what was cooking in the French scene pot.
The band label themselves as electro dark wave, I would not go much further than that description and there is a clear influence of the post punk and new wave here.
The first track “Lake of Love” is indeed a dark wave track in every sense, but would skip the comparison with any other, as they produced something authentic; atmospheric and melodic track with rhythm to make you move. The second track “In my city” has a post punkish vibe and by saying that I really do mean that the track has that retro feel and sends you back in time a bit. The same feel of the post-punk touch remains on “Stereo” and this song is more oriented to the Goth sound, so it is indeed appealing to those in love with the “dark” music. “Amazing” starts with a long intro and almost at the half of the track it shows its real potential. The track can be considered a bit monotone if you don’t have enough patience for it, but you need to listen more carefully for the melodic twists, as rhythmically it keeps the same tempo until the very end.
“No One is Innocent” shows more of the hit potential for the album, as things really fall into place here, great balance between the rhythm and melody, keeping the course with its melancholic and emotional feel. The most prominent track by now. But even saying so, “Demon’s Time” wins my attention more, and not because of the title. It is really so excellently composed and has most character musically speaking. Really nice chorus on this one and even though the demon is mentioned, I feel it as a really gentle one. Another track that I really like is the very next one, “Trash Disco”. And it is indeed a dark disco track; a nice beat to dance to, but a retro Goth sound that would please some old bats on the dance floor. Another track with real hit potential. And they saved one more treat for the end and that is “Comon”. After a longer introduction it develops its theme that is really a brilliant one, and from the last 3 tracks I really cannot choose the winner. What is clear about this one is that it relies less on the past influences but is more modern and contemporary in sound, having a more synth pop feel to it than dark wave or post punk one. And somehow, as I am listening to it more and more, I really feel I soaked it up, and found my personal winner. So all my favourite tracks are in fact on the second half of the album and I encourage the guys to keep that direction as they surely have something to say!
Enjoy the video for “In My City”!
