After one hell of a lot of speculation, rumour and expectations Amesoeurs self titled debut album finally sees the light of day, unfortunately it is also their swansong. After completion “Amesoeurs split up due to personal tensions and conflicting ideas regarding the band's future.” Reading further into this and from previous postings on the groups MySpace page, this was in main due to the new girlfriend of Neige (Peste Noir, Alcest) jealousy over singer Audrey S and also as drummer Winterhalter had been fired. This was later countered by another statement saying (apparently from Neige) that he was leaving due to “several personal reasons that apparently Audrey can't assume and understand.” He goes onto add that he “never prevented her to keep on the band with the other members if she wanted to.” Whatever way you want to read into this it is a great shame and the only good point is that almost nine months after these statements the group had obviously managed to bury any personal difficulties in order to get this recorded and released.
The already excellent EP ‘Ruines Humaines’ had proffered an idea of what to expect from this group, an eclectic amalgamation of post punk ideas with the ethos and credentials musically to modern black metal. Band names such as The Cure and Joy Division had been bandied about and we already had both the fantastic Alcest and Peste Noire to contend with and perhaps the viewpoint that Amesoeurs were the bridge between the two. The first thing that has to strike over this album is the stunning smog filled charcoal artwork, showing a city choked in pollution and no doubt within harbouring human emotions of despondency, negativity and neglect. This is perhaps the template for the music within the CD and at times it is pent up with anger and frustration and at others it is dismal and suicidal. One thing is for sure it is an hour long emotionally packed ride.
After instrumental ‘Gas In Veins’ lushly strums in with a maudlin despondency citing any manner of 4AD bands from yesteryear we suddenly flail into an apocalyptic drumming bombast which literally puts the music in the present cold black metal climate and merges the two styles dramatically. Ghostly voices echo in the background of this melee and when the tack finishes you realise you have been holding your breath and are close to choking. ‘Les Ruches Malades’ is much calmer and introduces Audrey Sylvain to the mix. Her vocals are at this point beseeching and restrained, certainly not singing at full range but building up with the music. A drum roll actually reminds a little of ancient Cure song ‘Jumping Someone Else’s Train’ but that is probably incidental as we have been expecting nuances of bands such as them to spring up. Obviously the lyrics are sung in French too adding to the mystery. ‘Heurt’ builds to an incendiary level more in line with the likes of My Bloody Valentine perhaps at first before settling down a bit and then raging into an excellent jangling guitar refrain and again turning in on itself to a snatch of reflective acoustics. Audrey reaches a deranged croaky squeal amongst this one and sounds as though she is really heurting from inside to expel it.
Angered and throaty vocals from Neige enter the already bleak atmosphere of ‘Recueillement’ adding yet more depth and dimensions to the music. The guitars really sound just like they have fallen out of a time-warp and listening to them here you expect the track to finish with the unmistakeable voice of John Peel mentioning the name of the band with an unmistakable glint of schoolboy glee in his voice, he would certainly have championed this if he had been around today. By contrast the assault of ‘Trouble (Eveils Infâmes)’ veers between enraged blackened vocals from Neige and furious riffing and moments that melody wise cite the likes of The Pixies, that is until caustic white noise sees the track imploding in on itself. The fragility of ‘Video Girl’ after this sees darkness turning into light and this is an airy pop song, commercially acceptable, sweet and seductive. Oh and whilst mentioning other bands check out the guitar opening on ‘La Reine Trayeuse’ it is pure Johnny Marr and its almost a surprise to hear Audrey follow rather than Morrissey. Mind you it would take someone forcing a hamburger down his throat to get a scream like Audrey fires out as the track goes into a blistering frenzy.
The melody to ‘Amesouers’ itself, well lets just say little sister, it’s all a bit of a nice day for an, ahem ‘White Wedding.’ I guess if you grew up in the 80s’ there is a lot here you are going to think of which makes this a lovely trip back down memory lane for those of us of a certain age. If you are a bit older this should make you want to go and plunder relatives record collections. This might well be a long review but this is an album that spoke to me in volumes and in this day and age that makes it pretty special in my book so go seek it out. Perhaps the combustion of the band is not such a bad thing as at least they flourished briefly and went out in their prime before withering and dropping dead on the earth.
http://www.myspace.com/amesoeurs
http://www.code666.net
