In the citadel of fans of unconventional music, the bar “Aleponia”, the fourth studio album of the band “Les Attitudes Spectrales” was held over the weekend to present the fourth studio album to a wider audience – in a narrow space, but in a very friendly and pleasant atmosphere. The band played all the sound material included in the new album, throwing in some of the old pieces (and one cover) for dessert, you could buy the new record on the spot and also the previous album, the band’s “merchandise”, etc. – everything, as it should be on such a holiday!
A bit of the official biography. Psychedelic garage rock with punk rock features (or vice versa) group “Les Attitudes Spectrales” was formed in 2014 as a duo of Frenchman Julien Joël Starka (voice, guitar, also drums) living in Latvia and Latvian Rūta Rosenfelde, now Starka, (voice, guitar). Both recorded the first two albums as a duo, until 2019, when Jānis Untāls (drums) and Adrians Grīns (guitar) joined the group. Mārtiņš Kuzmins is currently on drums. The group’s discography included three albums so far – “Floral Wreck” (2014), “Where’s My Ghost Milk?” (2015), Vampire In The Summer (2019).
“Songs For No One” (by the way, “Songs For Noone” is also correct) was worked on for two years. Like the previous album “Vampire In The Summer”, the new performance was released on vinyl by the French record label “Specific Recordings”, but it can also be heard on streaming platforms. Recorded in the period from November 2021 to March 2023 in such a mysterious place as the Department of Underground Zoology (at least that’s what it says on the “Bandcamp” website), mixed at the New Riga Theater, mastered at “L’Autre Oreille Music Studio” in Metz, France. In total, the album includes eight compositions, with Artūrs Skujiņš-Meijiņš at the console.
PAR. After the excellent “Vampire In The Summer”, the reviewer tried to follow the progress of this group more closely and it must be admitted that Starki & Co. have made a lot of effort in their craftsmanship and have become more mature and convincing in their sound, therefore the new record, judging it from the quality point of view, is more valuable. The best song of the album is “Autoscope”, that is, it would be so if only Ruth sang more in it, instead of Mr. Stark playing it with his weak voice, so the hypnotic “Murder In The Summer” will have to be crowned as No.1. The single “Slightly Off” should also be noted – at least that’s what connoisseurs of this group’s work suggested. Rattling underground punk rock with various experimental additional elements – “Songs For No One” deserves to be listened to, as a minimum, by every fan of “underground” music. If you manage to get on the emotional wave of “Les Attitudes Spectrales”, it will take you to interesting musical distances.
AGAINST. Already the last concerts, for example the one heard in Vagonu Zāle, in which “Les Attitudes Spectrales” took out some new piece from their song collection, made us wait for the new album with great caution and even concern – the unaccustomed and punkish garage rock had practically disappeared in the new songs, psychedelic ones as well there are fewer elements, with a cleaner and more refined, even progressive indie rock sound dominating. On the one hand, of course, it’s not bad – there is growth, but on the other hand – “Les Attitudes Spectrales” sympathized with exactly this rampant unfamiliarity, but here it is less, not to say that it is not there at all. It was especially noticeable at the “Aleponia” concert, where the pieces played in the bonus made one gasp – oh my, how cool this band is/was! It is said that “Les Attitudes Spectrales” are already working on their fifth album, which will again be held in harsher tones. Hopefully.
2023-10-08 16:10:41
#RECENZIJA #Spectral #Attitudes #Songs
