Capsule reviews of new releases by Antechamber and Autopsie d'une ombre
Chronique de mon album dans "I Die: You Die".
Capsule reviews of new releases by Antechmaber (Codex Empire) and Autopsie d'une ombre
Posted by alex | Nov 9, 2018
One-man French darkwave project Autopsie d’une ombre certainly knows how to conjure atmosphere. Sébastien Espi’s doom-laden baritone and the deep and monolithic bass thrums which run through his second LP conjure some of the mood (if not actual sound) of martial industrial, and the alternately grimy and booming production of Alive Somewhere‘s ten tracks matches the cold and impassive tone of such sounds. But the more one tracks what’s carrying the songs through, the more the distorted and simple synth leads which take the spotlight away from those heavier elements gain a melodic and distinctly hooky feel. After a few tracks, Alive Somewhere‘s comparisons to Cold Meat austerity begin to fade, and the combination of dark production and melody begins to recall the goth-garage of The Horrors or even She Wants Revenge. This clear pop impulse dressed in the most stoic of vestments reaches a peak with the mid-album title track. Part “Goodbye Horses”, part Jerome Reuter in balladeer mode, part Interpol deep cut, it makes the most of its simple and plaintively repeating refrain. That impulse perhaps goes awry on some of the other numbers, which tack on an unnecessary minute or two by simply repeating their choruses until the clock runs out, but on the whole Espi fuses light and darkness with canny swagger.
