In 2009 my ex wife and I separated for divorce. Through a friend I was able to procure an awesome apartment in the lower west side of buffalo. The place was two floors in an old brick house and was much more room than I was looking for, I had fantasized about a spartan studio apartment for my lonely guy lifestyle but for the "friends only" rent I couldn't turn the place down. It had taken me a while to get used to the new underfurnished surroundings, but it was exciting none the less to steadily reacquire all the trappings of modern life.
I remember standing in my kitchen one morning watching my coffee brewer doing its job and since a tattooer doesn't start til the crack of noon an early bird like me had plenty of staring time. I had discovered this album and played it often at that time.
#alcest play an ethereal shoe gaze strain of black metal, and as the band has evolved there has been less and less metal in their releases leaving them in a dream pop sort of territory. On this cd though they retained some screamed vocal passages and staccato picked guitars to sharpen the edges of the wistful dreamy parts. The lyrics are sung in french so as a non-speaker they become vocal abstractions which adds nuance without distracting imagery. I would stand in my kitchen during those dark late winter mornings in a fume of brewing coffee half wondering what the vocalist was getting at but not really caring. I didn't want to hear someone else's sad story I just wanted a sad comforting song bird as a distraction. Alcest were a comfort during that time.
The band has just announced their new album to be released this fall, it's a perfect time for one of their discs and I'm excited for it's release.
No comments:
Post a Comment