Having appeared with eponymous albums I and II in 2018 and 2021, and renowned ever since for their hypnotic live performances,Choses Sauvages present us with III, a logical but different sequel to their predecessors, from which they have released three extracts. Faithful to a funky sound tinged with punk influences, the band led by Félix Belisle (La Sécurité) returns with nine songs filled with 80s keyboards, tight guitars and frenzied bass that make you want to dance to escape an increasingly suffocating world depicted by Félix’s automatic writing.
Revolving around the themes of the passage of time, the quest for self, escape and our role in the world in general, the songs take us on a journey of existential and personal reflection. The intimate tone of the production, with its raw vocals and sharp, introspective lyrics, projects a rawness that draws us into the process. Always rhythmic, with the exception of the beautiful “Chaos initial” with Lysandre, where we slow down for a moment to appreciate the appearance of the light female voice on this dreamy, atmospheric bird’s flight.
At times, the opus recalls The Kills, as on “Incendie au paradis” with its suave French-touch, where the subject of artificial intelligence is tackled with a guitar texture reminiscent of Jamie Hince, and sometimes Bloc Party, as on “Faux Départ,” where the desire to explore life as it passes is accompanied by interstellar 8-bit. “Level up à l’intérieur,” a collaboration with Comment Debord, reminds us of a marriage between the voices of Stefie Shock and Jimmy Hunt against a backdrop of self-seeking and change, a metamorphosis.
The theme of escape is echoed on “Fixe,” the album’s rhythmic, screeching opener, and also on “Cours Toujours,” which veers into more country-folk arrangements that are not uninteresting and support the backing vocals particularly well, ending with a beautiful instrumental progression. The toxicity of the world fuels the pounding of En joue, with its galactic synths, saturated claps and resolutely funk guitar.
On “Deux Assassins,” a little darker and definitely rocking, we are treated to a looped spectacle of the spied embracing on fractured guitar and galactic synths, enhanced by a little electro interlude. We’re left with “Big Bang,” an almost instrumental piece, where bass, guitar and keyboard intersect and replicate each other, intensifying, a little like a signal or communication, evolving into an atmospheric jam that ends gently with a touch of piano.
An absolutely dynamic and well-constructed album, with hints of old video games and dissonance, that puts into perspective our place in the midst of all that’s going on. The writing is simple and effective, opening up the field of possibilities and leading us to ask “Should we count the days we have left, or should we dance?
