1.CRISTAL /2. ACCORDS PERDUS /3. SIRENE AUTOMATIQUE /4. EN ESPAGNE /5. JE SUIS VENU TE DIRE /6. J’ABANDONNE /7. JE NE RESPIRE PLUS /8. CE QUE CA FAIT /9. L’ECLAT DU CREPUSCULE /10. TOUS LES CHEMINS
Release date: December 2, 2022
“Nous avons venu vous dire que votre album est superbe!“
Sometimes, when a loved band comes back after some time, it can feel like a tap on the back or a playful wink. ‘Cristal’ feels like the latter. Released at the end of 2022, three years after Frontière and three years on from the beginning of the Covid lockdowns, it is an album that we can’t get enough of.
Ceremonial synthwave with humble and powerful melodies that give you the nudge you’ve been needing for at least a year, the whole album feels like a proposition to dance. Whether finding inspiration in nursery rhymes (e.g. the lyrics of ‘JE NE RESPIRE PLUS’) or in 
seemingly more austere martial rhythms, CRISTAL is another personal album for the band. The themes, mostly in first and second person singular, touch on loneliness, the passage of time, the emotional rollercoaster of personal relationships.
The mighty synth melodies hit all the right chords and the (by now) signature minimal rhythms make sure we are eased into each song. Despite what the vocals suggest, there are areas of great emotional tension in the lyrics, which are sonically illuminated by the lightness of the synth melodies.
“Un, deux, touche moi
Trois, quatre, quand je parle
Cinq, six, j’ai moins mal
Sept, huit, quand tu es là…” (lyrics: ‘JE NE RESPIRE PLUS’)
Very soon, we find ourselves enchanted by the melodies and the overall energy of the album.
From an industrial sensuality to a synthwave one
The darkwave, cinematic, industrial staccato of ‘Frontière’ has now taken the form of synth-based melancholic melodies which sound like birdsong. If with the previous album the idea was to transport us into a sort of dark disco where the rhythms were slowed down and the atmosphere felt almost stale, ‘CRISTAL’ says ‘come on, stand up, here is how you used to feel when dancing before time stood still‘.
There can be no comparison between the generosity, almost unconscious kindness, of the feelings that melody awakens and those that the ‘colder’ industrial rhythms resurface and, right now, we welcome those who speak to the parts of us that seek to find their footing again…
Congratulations Geoffroy!
This album has been part of our ‘Soundtrack of 2022′ which can be accessed here.
You can buy this album from here.
9/10
Blaue Rosen 