Blackgaze is a compound noun that strikes fear in the heart of many metaller, conjuring up images of bearded hipsters with pocket watch tattoos wanting to get their emo “awn” in a more mature and serious way. Alcest are the pioneers of the genre and alongside Shining (the Swedish one) have helped pave the way for Deafhaven et al to persuade people in their twenties to dig through My Bloody Valentine records as well as Beherit.
On their 5th release Kodoma, ( Japanese for “Tree Spirit and Echo” ) the duo of Neige and Winterhalter have injected more black metal than was evident in 2014’s dream pop Shelter. The ethereal floating aesthetic is still written through the six tracks like a stick of rock but there are spiky fragments that threaten to pierce your palette as you bite into it. ( Help I am in danger of disappearing up my own arse here!) . The muse for Kodoma is “Princess Mononoke” an anime by Hayao Miyazaki and Alcest manage to play out the struggle between steel and nature adeptly.
The influence of The Cure is evident throughout with big bass lines and atmosphere reminiscent of the Crawley boys dark trilogy with a bleakly beautiful frosty passage always lurking around the corner to keep the orange squeezers happy.
Opening with the title tracks massive drums and swirling rhythms Alcest soon drop in an infectious choral line that gripped me and dragged me into their world. In the press release for Kodoma both Tool and Grimes are mentioned and this track shows exactly why. In the same way as those two diverse acts Alcest manage to transport the listener into a different place through intricate layering of instruments and then a catchy hooked barb to make resistance futile. Immediately it is apparent that this is music to lose yourself in.
“Eclosion” is dark but welcoming with an uplifting initial vocal, creating an opiate haze where all pain ceases but without the vomiting and downward spiral. Then the harsh vocals provide the Yang and the pace is picked up showing that Alcest can get their rock on as well. Fans of My Bloody Valentine will love this as will those who dig the Pumpkins and Dinosaur Jr. This continues onto “Je suis d’ailleurs” with a guitar-line that evokes J Mascis with the fuzz pedal turned off . These guys can blast too as they show here. When things get a little necro it doesn’t spiral out of control and easily returns to the shoegaze vibe without going all square peg round hole.
“Untouched” returns a little to the dream pop of the bands previous release but still with a dark edge with a chorus that evokes Lacuna Coil at their best. “Oiseaux de Proie” which translates to Birds of Prey is next , drums at the front to create the Japane Kodo soundscape this paints a powerful sonic picture of vengeful birds seeking to tear the flesh of enemies but with this carnage as a thing of beauty and blood red ink splashes rather than gore soaked technicolour.
By the time “Onyx” brings Kodama to a close I am so immersed in the world that Neige and Winterhalter have created that I don’t want to leave. I feel like the visitors in Westworld , falling in love with the beauty and violence that has been created to entertain me. Onyx is 3 minutes of outro that serves as a decompression chamber to enable me to surface (reluctantly).
Alcest have created an album of beauty and darkness that lifted me and tugged at heartstrings in equal measure. Surely a contender for album of the year.
(9/10 Matt Mason)
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