Melding spoken-word and rock mystique, new album Délier is the culmination of a personal journey for enfant rouge, the project led by Jean-Christophe Tabuy, a foundational figure in the 1990s French noise scene with Portobello Bones. After decades spent as a sound engineer for acclaimed artists like The Limiñanas and Albin de la Simone, Tabuy returns to the forefront with a DIY philosophy. The record explores the concept of sorting through past trauma and contradictions without tearing them apart.
Ruminating rhythms open the album as “Défilé” gets underway, quickly bolstered by jangly, subdued guitars and a spoken-word vocal entrancement. A swampy, twangy rock spell continues to unveil, taking off especially around midpoint as doses of blaring distortion linger in the background. Thematically, the lyrics capture how life is defined by contradictions: especially in fighting oppression while perpetuating it, and exploiting a cause while being exploited by it.
The ensuing “Qui ?” struts a more laid-back electro-set intrigue initially, again enamoring with a debonair, conversational vocal delivery that expands alongside stylish guitar work; their tonal progressions resemble a western film, traversing a sprawling desert soundscape with confidence and charisma. Elsewhere, “Elle se lève” achieves a late-night atmosphere in its murky guitar maneuvers and overall introspection, pondering on how children sometimes outgrow the heavy burdens they carry, exposing and resolving trauma by returning the truth to where it truly belongs. Christelle Lassort’s vocal work here is riveting in its steady yet powerful flow.
The soul-searching “Quelqu’un” is another stirring success, with a progression from warming guitar murmurs to exotic rhythmic vibrancy. The lyricism within captures how “we lose ourselves by searching, and we find (ourselves) without looking,” per the act, and it continues a knack for artful thematic contemplation displayed throughout the release, pairing with stylish rock allure for a wholly memorable listening experience.
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“Défilé” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
