I was actually with Vince, in California, when “L’Envol,” the first single from Les Chants de L’Aurore premiered. We were in the car together, leaving Joshua Tree and heading to LAX so I could catch my flight home, and we booted it up on Spotify with the usual thinking that a new Alcest album on the horizon is always cause for celebration. What we got was something entirely more than what we expected. If you listen to the podcast (spoiler: stay tuned for more on that front), you know we’re not people who are easily left speechless, and yet my first impression left my jaw on the floor.
I haven’t looked back since. That song, and the subsequent single “Flamme Jumelle,” have been occupying almost every crevice of my brain since they dropped. Granted, there’s always a non-zero chance that I’m listening to Alcest at any given moment. They are one of my favorite bands, bar none, and there is so much of my life that they coincidentally tie into that it almost feels…well, not like a coincidence at all. Kodama was the only CD in my car when Angela and I started dating, so listening to it reminds me of falling in love with the person I’m gonna spend the rest of my life with. Shelter was the album that I used to sell my less metal-inclined friends on the merits of the French duo, so listening to it reminds me of hanging out with my friends, drinking and laughing and not realizing we were living the days we would reminisce about years later. Souvenirs was the album that pulled me out of a funk of depression and inspired me to pick up a guitar again and learn new songs to play for the first time in years. I saw Alcest live for the first time on the tour for Spiritual Instinct, and it was one of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had. Why the hell am I telling you all this? Because Les Chants de L’Aurore feels like discovering Alcest all over again. All those feelings are rushing back, even as I type this, and it feels overwhelming in a very beautiful and powerful way. And that’s the point. Les Chants is a return to form for Alcest. Not that Spiritual Instinct was a departure in quality; rather, it was an album born of outward reflection, influenced by the goings-on of the world. Les Chants sees Neige and Winterhalter once again draw inspiration from the place that started it all: the Other World that Neige first saw as a child, and whose imagery has been the reason behind Alcest in the first place.
With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise you that Les Chants sounds like Souvenirs and Spiritual Instinct had a baby while Les Voyages De L’Âme watched in the corner. It is so much brighter, more hopeful and peaceful than Spiritual Instinct. Don’t get me wrong: I love that album, but we can all agree that it was a very dark and brooding album. Les Chants is like watching a sunrise, while Spiritual Instinct is like watching the moon; both beautiful in their own unique way. Fueling this is the production, which is much more open and airy, akin to Souvenirs. Les Chants blends the bright, poppy guitar tones of their earlier work, as well as real choirs and piano, with the electronic elements that have marked their later work. And yes, there are blast beats and harsh vocals prominently featured, but if you’re one of those people who always feels the need to ask where the screams and blasts are, you’re deliberately missing the point. Les Chants was recorded in a little farmhouse in the French countryside; vocal takes were done in the living room, drums in the attic, guitar, bass and piano in bedrooms. It was a laid back, relaxed environment, and that comes across so well in the music. This is an album that immediately makes me feel awash in a sense of serenity, like I too am being transported to that Other World. More importantly, that sense of joy is felt in every note sung, played or hit, from Neige’s vocals, to the drums, to the guitar melodies, the viola da gamba and glockenspiel and synth washes, everything. Les Chants is a special experience, and one that begs repeated listens.
Les Chants de L’Aurore is one of those rare albums that feels like it found me exactly when I needed it to. Alcest don’t make albums on a yearly, or even bi-yearly schedule. There always seems to be a reason for them putting something out there into the world. But, as Neige himself says, “We always put all of our heart and soul into making a new record, but when it is released, it doesn’t belong to us anymore.” In that case, I’m happy that this album belongs to me now. It is getting stored with the rest of their discography, next to the memories I’ll carry with me forever.
— Ian
Les Chants de L’Aurore will be available June 21 on Nuclear Blast Records. For more information on Alcest, check out their official website.
Nine Circles 