Alcest – Écailles de Lune

Releasedate: 29-03-2010; Label: Prophecy Productions
By: Lara Cappelli

Alcest was formed in France in early 2000. The whole band concept is based on main composer Neige’s childhood visions and memories of a faraway world. Keeping this feelings in their music, Alcest have now released their second album, Écailles de Lune.

After “Souvenirs D’un Autre Monde”, Alcest manage once again to convey their concept through a very personal and refined way. Écailles de Lune comes shily to the listener, with a quiet opening and evanescent vocals. The visionary Shoegaze style is kept alive here, far and away to the Black Metal sound the album sporadically falls into. The two sides of the band style are always kept well distant and not overly blended, maintaining a balance between the two that surely makes the album more wide-ranging. The song “Abysses” functions as a brief pause before the second part of the album gets started, turning out more mellow and meek. Neige doesn’t spare himself to spice both the parts with long lasting guitar arpeggios that make the general melancholic atmosphere plainly come out. Those arpeggios sounded to me like the actual centerpiece of the whole album; their melodies shape every song making the all flow with such a naturalness that, at least in my case, amazes from first to last second of it.

Tracklist: 01. Écailles De Lune (part I) 02. Écailles De Lune (part II) 03. Percées De Lumière 04. Abysses 05. Solar Song 06. Sur L’Océan Couleur De Fer

Links:
Alcest MySpace
Alcest Official