More often than not when you put on a new record there is a courting period wherein you digest new sounds gradually and assimilate grouping structures within the music, while attaching emotional responses to what you are hearing, which can be changed based on time and context. Even albums that may end up being favorites, are not immediately loved. Most records, like any relationship, take time to get to know before you make that commitment to stick with it beyond a fleeting lustful fling. But some records...well some records jar you out of complacency like a bolt of lightening and make you feel something immediate and strong; whether it be aggression, excitement, sorrow or joy. Some records you have a connection with that surpasses the normal progression of incorporating music into your being. Autre Ne Veut's self-titled debut is one of those records. It's jarring, disorienting, familiar and comforting all at once; and insanely good.Let me attempt to convey what went through my head when I hit play and album opener "Tell Me" came rolling out of my speakers: 'This isn't too bad, it isn't like I thought it would be. Kinda sounds like a lo-fi TV on the Radio. Like that guy's voice, real soulful. Check out this freaky funhouse rhythm. Hmm, it's kind of like a chillwave version of TV on the Radio. Oh yeah here we go, that's the sweet spot! Sexy as hell multi-tracked chorus is pulling all the right strings. This is the fucking bomb. Hot damn!!! Oh keep it coming, keep it coming, please don't stop...' No, I didn't have to change my pants afterwards, but I did feel like I had finally found the one album this year that would come out of nowhere and kill. And if you don't want to read any more, I'll make it quick and let you know that yes, that feeling became reality once I came to the end Autre Ne Veut's debut. This is it. This is the album we've been waiting for to come and sweep us off our feet with precious little hype or buzz to precede it.
So, if you are still reading this and haven't already dropped everything to pick up a copy, let me try and convince you a little bit more. The mysterious act (don't know if they are a band, a man, or a unicorn) produce a quasi brand of chillwave that incorporates heavy doses of R&B as well as off kilter electronica into their mix of heartfelt songs. As a result they/he/it have crafted an original sound that is as challenging as it is comforting. It's soul soothing, yet jarring at the same time. The familiarity locked within the complexity of the music is what makes this immediately lovable, while at the same time rewarding repeated in-depth immersions into the album. Take a listen to "Emotional" and you will latch quickly onto the subtly tweeked R&B vocals, but be disoriented by the shuffled beat and keyboards that sound a bit like a drunk falling down the stairs. It is that mixture of the experimental with the straight forward that makes this an album for everyone. Dance kids can groove on it, IDM snobs will find much to sift through, indie rockers will love the emotionality, hell, I bet even your grandma could rock this, even though she might wonder if she doubled dosed on her pain meds.
I don't really know what more to say about this, other than a single moment more of life without it is not worth living. I'm sure I could stick around and come up with more comparisons and analogies, but that would waste your time in getting off the computer and picking up a copy of this incredible record, which is destined for year end lists for sure. I will end with one more addition to my description of Autre Ne Veut's debut and that is beauty. This is an incredibly beautiful record. In the manner that Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted carried with it so much beauty in between the noise, Autre Ne Veut's debut carries with it so much beauty in between it's topsy turvy electronic compositions, making the human heart at the center of all the machines the real star here.
AUTRE NV "SOLDIER" from OLDE ENGLISH SPELLING BEE on Vimeo.
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