Le A
Le A are the vocals and synths of Blandine Peis, yet more guitars and vocals courtesy of Ita Duclair and Emeline Marceau, alongside the drums and xy chromosomes of Michaël Martin. The quartet hail from Bordeaux and formed Le A - named in homage to the bande dessinée series "Philémon" - in 2012, releasing their debut EP "Inseln" last year (which is - yes - somewhere in my Bandcamp Wishlist). Fortunately they've followed up with a new "Pale Echo", which was released this spring... And seeing as I seem to have been listening to a bit of indie, shoegazy, Noise-pop of late - and the band do seem to tick a number of boxes - now would seem to be a good time to finally pen a few long overdue words of appreciation...
And if you like lingering, shoegazy, indie guitar intros that slam into a wall of pounding percussion and to which ethereal vocals are then thrown into the mix, you could do a lot worse than listen to the EP's opening track, "Deus". I find myself hanging on every chord, every pedal change as the song slowly builds from a murmur until - just as it is on the verge of bursting out of my speakers - harmonious, whispering vocals lend a misleading air of calm... and then all hell breaks loose - pounding percussion and a fusillade of crashing, reverbed guitars erupts from seemingly nowhere. The song oscillates wildly between these extremes before slowly fading out and allowing the listener to catch breath...
But there's so much more to Le A than just another shoegaze-influenced band. "Deus" already hints at a more complex, alt-rock sound and this is reinforced by both "Say No Evil" and the EP's closing track "Everyone". The former is a bit of a dark, psychedelic-tinged masterpiece. Metronomic drums and sombre synths add an air of menace to ghostly vocals - "I can't speak, Words won't come out..." - before once again there's an explosion of noise and energy, throw in a Banshee wail or two, moments of disconcerting quietness and you begin to get the impression that the band may have been listening to the 4AD back-catalogue.
Meanwhile "Everyone" again provides that intriguing contrast between breathless vocals and tumultuous walls of guitar and percussion. Here though there an acute focus on the girls' vocalisations - on an EP as powerful as this, vocals tend to get overlooked - angelic, honey-dripped voices really shine, the soothing harmonisations are quite beautiful... And to cap it all there's an incredibly powerful coda of multi-layered guitars and pulsating percussion to bring the song to a close.
In an interview, Ita lists Warpaint as one of the band's influences (alongside such notables as My Bloody Valentine, Siouxsie and The Banshees and Portishead) and comparisons with arguably LA's most innovative band are immediately apparent with "Sirius I" - there's that same intense back-beat of bass and percussion, a confidence to push at musical boundaries - it's an incredibly assured performance, highlighting both the confidence and ability of the band. In many respects this is probably the EP's outstanding track.
Yet there's also "Louise", a brilliantly moody alt-rock song - toying with elements of post-punk and throwing in shoegazy chords, all topped by melancholy tinged vocals - and a bit of a masterpiece in its own right. The vocals are gorgeous - cent-pour-cent en française - and it's the fact that the band have the confidence to write and perform lyrics in the language of Molière rather than Shakespeare really excites. So what's so strange about a French band writing and performing in French? It could most certainly be argued that a French band writing and performing in English shows impressive linguistic dexterity, to which I would readily agree and highlight the four English-language tracks on this EP as evidence. But - and it is a big BUT - the fact that Le A have taken a genre that is so incredibly English in nature (awaits to be flamed) and have crafted such a seemingly effortless song that just flows so naturally in French is - to these ears - something that should be celebrated. Here's hoping that the band straddle both sides of La Manche so admirably in the future.
Part of the Bordelaise music collective "Les Disques du Fennec" ('...cute but wild, talented and determined. For love, happiness, whiskey...') "Pale Echo" and their debut EP "Inseln" suggest that Le A are more than capable of conquering both the Francophone and Anglophone worlds.
Le A (Website)
"Pale Echo" (Bandcamp)
And if you like lingering, shoegazy, indie guitar intros that slam into a wall of pounding percussion and to which ethereal vocals are then thrown into the mix, you could do a lot worse than listen to the EP's opening track, "Deus". I find myself hanging on every chord, every pedal change as the song slowly builds from a murmur until - just as it is on the verge of bursting out of my speakers - harmonious, whispering vocals lend a misleading air of calm... and then all hell breaks loose - pounding percussion and a fusillade of crashing, reverbed guitars erupts from seemingly nowhere. The song oscillates wildly between these extremes before slowly fading out and allowing the listener to catch breath...
But there's so much more to Le A than just another shoegaze-influenced band. "Deus" already hints at a more complex, alt-rock sound and this is reinforced by both "Say No Evil" and the EP's closing track "Everyone". The former is a bit of a dark, psychedelic-tinged masterpiece. Metronomic drums and sombre synths add an air of menace to ghostly vocals - "I can't speak, Words won't come out..." - before once again there's an explosion of noise and energy, throw in a Banshee wail or two, moments of disconcerting quietness and you begin to get the impression that the band may have been listening to the 4AD back-catalogue.
Meanwhile "Everyone" again provides that intriguing contrast between breathless vocals and tumultuous walls of guitar and percussion. Here though there an acute focus on the girls' vocalisations - on an EP as powerful as this, vocals tend to get overlooked - angelic, honey-dripped voices really shine, the soothing harmonisations are quite beautiful... And to cap it all there's an incredibly powerful coda of multi-layered guitars and pulsating percussion to bring the song to a close.
In an interview, Ita lists Warpaint as one of the band's influences (alongside such notables as My Bloody Valentine, Siouxsie and The Banshees and Portishead) and comparisons with arguably LA's most innovative band are immediately apparent with "Sirius I" - there's that same intense back-beat of bass and percussion, a confidence to push at musical boundaries - it's an incredibly assured performance, highlighting both the confidence and ability of the band. In many respects this is probably the EP's outstanding track.
Yet there's also "Louise", a brilliantly moody alt-rock song - toying with elements of post-punk and throwing in shoegazy chords, all topped by melancholy tinged vocals - and a bit of a masterpiece in its own right. The vocals are gorgeous - cent-pour-cent en française - and it's the fact that the band have the confidence to write and perform lyrics in the language of Molière rather than Shakespeare really excites. So what's so strange about a French band writing and performing in French? It could most certainly be argued that a French band writing and performing in English shows impressive linguistic dexterity, to which I would readily agree and highlight the four English-language tracks on this EP as evidence. But - and it is a big BUT - the fact that Le A have taken a genre that is so incredibly English in nature (awaits to be flamed) and have crafted such a seemingly effortless song that just flows so naturally in French is - to these ears - something that should be celebrated. Here's hoping that the band straddle both sides of La Manche so admirably in the future.
Part of the Bordelaise music collective "Les Disques du Fennec" ('...cute but wild, talented and determined. For love, happiness, whiskey...') "Pale Echo" and their debut EP "Inseln" suggest that Le A are more than capable of conquering both the Francophone and Anglophone worlds.
Le A (Website)
"Pale Echo" (Bandcamp)
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