Country : France Label : Nuclear Blast Genres and styles : Black Metal / Métal / Post-Rock / Shoegaze Year : 2024

Alcest – Les chants de l’Aurore

· by Laurent Bellemare

Almost 20 years ago, the young French band Alcest released their EP Le secret, a proposal that brought together the lightness and gentleness of shoegaze with the darkness and strident melodies of black metal. Today, the duo has perfected this aesthetic, delivering their seventh full-length, all light and nostalgia.     

Mastering chiaroscuro also means being able to step out of it to delve deeper into the various facets of this blend. On Écailles de lune (2010), Alcest borrowed heavily from the black metal heritage in fairly progressive tracks, while Shelter(2014) evacuated almost all traces of heavy music in a pastiche to Slowdive and other shoegaze pioneers. 2016’s Kodamabrought back the band’s black metal roots, though it was the deliberate inspiration by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki that infused the album with personality.     
            
On Les chants de l’Aurore, it’s hard to pinpoint what sets the album apart from the others. It’s certainly more coherent and consistent than its predecessor Spiritual Instinct (2019), but you can’t help but hear a certain redundancy. This is potentially the most symbiotically “Alcest” release since the classic Souvenirs d’un autre monde (2007), indistinguishably blending aesthetic poles. And the comparison is all the more apt given that both opuses deal in equal measure with memories. An apt return to form, perhaps. Les chants de l’Aurore is also a succession of structurally simple tracks, built around catchy verses and choruses that stretch out over varying lengths from track to track. A sort of heavy, yet ethereal rock from which occasional sharp cries emerge among distant chants, the music spares complex developments in favour of variations on its themes. Layers of tremolo supporting the melodies reinforce an aggressive background, without distorting the mellow tone of the whole.

Overall, this new album is less distinctive in Alcest’s discography. Its summery melancholy, reminiscent of the first album, could just as easily please as disappoint, depending on the relationship each listener has with the band. One thing is certain: Les chants de l’Aurore is a catchy, effective and mature album. From the very first listen, the melodies soak into your mind, inviting you to contemplate the remnants of seasons past.

Latest 360 Content

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Sparks – MAD!

Sparks – MAD!

“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember

“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Festival des Saveurs | Closing With Reggae

Festival des Saveurs | Closing With Reggae

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

Men I Trust – Equus Caballus

Men I Trust – Equus Caballus

The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face

The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face

A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season

A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season

The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time

The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time

Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season

Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season

Piknic 3: A Little Bit of Everything Under the Sun

Piknic 3: A Little Bit of Everything Under the Sun

Cazzu – Latinaje

Cazzu – Latinaje

Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film

Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film

SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock

SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock

Abbey Road at Festival Classica

Abbey Road at Festival Classica

Mira Choquette – Hier encore

Mira Choquette – Hier encore

Jared Dunn; Anna Gorecka – Gorecki’s World of the Piano

Jared Dunn; Anna Gorecka – Gorecki’s World of the Piano

Subscribe to our newsletter