on 2012-01-27 jk666 Said:

If the rest of the albums coming out this year are even half as good as this it's going to be a great year for music...
Not Rated

Review:

on 2012-01-27 CharlesMartel Said:

The year is but young, and yet already the album of the year has been released. I say that with some conviction for I firmly believe that there will be nothing through the remaining eleven months of 2012 which will top "Les Voyages de l'Ame". Alcest has established a reputation for producing a kind of metal music which incorporates elements of shoegaze, dream pop and post punk. In fact, Neige (aka Stephane Paut), the driving force behind Alcest, virtually invented the genre now known as blackgaze on which bandwagon so many others have jumped.

"Les Voyages de l'Ame" is Alcest's third album and shows a continued refinement of the style set out in the stunning debut. The guitars are clearer and there is less distortion which marked out "Souvenirs de l'Autre Monde". The vocals remain pretty much a high point, ethereal and dreamy (although there is some growling which really is something which should be left behind). Some may criticise the apparent lack of progression between the three albums, but I would venture to say that opinion is not only missing the point but is also false. "Les Voyages de l'Ame" refines a process begun with "Ecailles de Lune", moving the sound towards a kind of atmospheric sublimity which can hardly fail to have an impact on all but the most jaded listener.

This is evident right from the start. The opening track, "Autre Temps", provides a superb example to anyone, among them the many pretenders to the crown, of how exactly one should do atmospheric-blackgaze-metal. Layers of echoey guitars alternate with distorted guitars while Neige's delicate voice runs across the theme. This could only be sung in French. Now, some people find it off-putting when listening to foreign language songs because they cannot understand the words. That is a strange state to be in, more so on this album for, in truth, the vocals add another layer to the music and, while they can be understood (at least in part) by anyone with a basic command of French, it is not really necessary. After all, the Cocteau Twins achieved critical success when the lyrics were gobbledegook and incomprehensible lyrics, stuffed to the back of songs, and then covered with layer upon layer of distorted guitars never stopped Kevin Shields from taking My Bloody Valentine to near godlike status among some critics.

By the time of the second track, "La ou Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles", you have realised that this is an album which could perhaps rival even "Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde". Well, almost. That album was a life changing experience, an event unlikely to be repeated. Plus, on "La Ou Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles", Neige growls. It is one of the few places on the album where he does (Faiseurs de Monde being the other), and if he gave it up entirely it would improve the album immensely. I suppose Neige has to tip a wink to his black metal roots somewhere.

So complete, so consistent, so successful is the album that it is hard to identify a key track. Depending on the time of day, my mood or even what else I may be doing at the time, I find a different track on the album reaching out to me. In the quiet of the evening, looking out of the window as a gale blows the bamboo in the garden into shapes of spectral malevolence, the title track plays and fits the moment perfectly by contrasting the outside with the warmth in. "Beings of Light" is for that moment when you switch between lethargy and activity. I could go on, but you get the picture. This album has music for every moment.

"Les Voyages de l'Ame" is Alcest's most accessible album. That is not a bad thing. It shows that Alcest have managed to develop and refine their sound into something which can reach across to the listener. This may be Alcest's best album yet, an opinion I would hold even more strongly if Neige stopped growling, but I cannot find it in me to replace "Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde" in my affections, simply because of the impact it had on me when I first heard it. But if you have not encountered Alcest on your musical journey yet, consider yourself deficient and seek to remedy that deficiency as soon as possible with "Les Voyages de l'Ame". But oh how I envy you! You who have not yet heard Alcest. I envy the fact that you have yet to experience, for the first time, that moment where the music captures you. No matter how many times I play Alcest's music, sadly, I can never recapture the moment of that first listen, something you experience only once in your life. There are times when I feel that, for the right reasons, people should not be allowed to make music as beautiful as this.
Rating: 9/10

on 2012-01-27 CharlesMartel Said:

You beat me to it. But I recommend you listen to "Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde" next, the band's debut, as it is one of the few albums I can truly say blew me away.
Rating: 9/10