Gimme Shelter

I have written about France's Alcest before. Their 2012 release Les Voyages de L'Âme made number 8 on my favorite records of 2012 list. When they started years ago they were another black metal band with growling vocals and sheets of noise. Happily, they have grown to a classic-sounding progressive band; they might be one of the best currently working.

Their new album is the lush Shelter. I had ordered it on Amazon but it was out of stock for what seemed like forever. I eventually gave up and went to my new favorite place Discogs to order through their marketplace. I think my copy came from Germany, but the price was plenty reasonable and it showed up about two weeks after ordering, which is not bad considering it had an ocean to cross.

Alcest is primarily Stéphane Paut on everything but drums and Jen Delfandre on drums. They go by Neige and Winterhalter because they are French and prog and why not, you know. I got to see them a couple months ago at Empire outside Washington DC opening for Anathema. It was a sensational show. Their brand of progressive is very anthemic, very dynamic, music that does not take long to soar. It is not everybody's cup of tea but I love it. It is emotional and powerful.

Shelter builds on that, easily their most progressive record. This one actually has vocals in english, on the album's penultimate "Away." Vocals here are done by Neil Halstead of Slowdive. That track is immediately followed by the fantastic closer "Délivrance." It is a beautiful track, typical of Alcest, starting with a lovely guitar figure before working it's way to a frenetic closing.  Some reviews of the records accuse the band of running in place, but I am all for good songs done exceptionally well. Shelter does that. There's no harm in doing what you do best.

Here is the album closer "Délivrance."

Favorite Albums of 2012 - Number 8

There's something about progressive music that many folks don't like. Too earnest, too busy, too take-it-self-serious, too full of itself, too complicated-for-the-sake-of-complication, too pretentious, too sterile.

I like progressive rock. I like lots of different kinds of music but good prog can be stimulating on many levels (uh oh here he goes). The musicianship can be very impressive but that can be done at the expense of passion. All things being equal, I think it's better to play passionately than perfectly (assuming you know how to play in the first place).

Alcest - Les Voyages de L'Âme

Another thing people don't like is France. HA! I kid (kind of). I myself love France; Paris is one of my favorite cities. Alcest has the dual problem of being a progressive metal band from France.

Their new album is called Les Voyages de L'Âme, which for the non-French speakers means "journeys of the soul." That is a very progressive rock kind of title, but it also suits the music. I am going to drift perilously close to melodrama here, so bear with me. Prog rock tends to do that to me.

This is another record, much like the Tame Impala record, I find surprised is ranked so far down the list. Maybe in a year I will want to re-arrange things, because this is the kind of record that finds itself getting played and played and played. It probably helps that it is sung in French, which adds to it's mystery. Like their European colleagues Opeth, Alcest was a black metal band that has become much more melodic and has stepped away from the cookie-monster-growls that goes for vocals in that scene. The singing here is lovely and is perfectly suited for the music. It is, in a word, beautiful...beautiful all around. It's complicated but it's never monotonous; it goes from quiet to loud; from the valleys then into the air. And really, it is a very touching record. 

If you are a fan of progressive rock and you don't have this record...you really really REALLY need to get it.

Here's the video for the title cut. And yes the video is as proggy as you would expect.

Up next....from prog to alt-country. Sacre bleu!!