Around Neige, a charismatic and eccentric figure, revolves a diverse group of bands, whose works, thanks to their originality and uniqueness, manage to emerge and stand out within the crowded European music scene and beyond: we remember the "medieval" and wicked Peste Noire, or the modern and pessimistic Amesoeurs, the duo known as Lantlôs, the melancholic Mortifera, the melodic and dark Phest, or the little-known Valfunde. But the album in question belongs to Alcest, an intimate and personal project of the leader, singer and multi-instrumentalist, which prevails thanks to its profound uniqueness over Neige's other projects.

Alcest was born in 2000 with the raw demo tape "Tristesse Hivernale" in which the aggressive and fast sounds of Raw Black Metal and Neige's piercing scream blend with some acoustic breaks, thus creating a cold and opaque wall of sound. However, the true musical abilities and artistic greatness of the leader fully came to light in the splendid EP "Le Secret" released in 2005, with Black Metal and Shoegaze sounds, and in the following ethereal and magical "Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde", a fragment of an inner world, a hidden island of quiet and serenity, where the memories and visions of young Stéphane are concealed. In March 2010, the long-awaited "Écailles De Lune" is released, representing a real break from the previous two works; there is no regression or evolution: with this work, a new more adult, pessimistic, nostalgic for the dream world and intolerant of this existence Alcest is born.

Even the cover of this great work introduces us to a world still anchored to fairy-tale images. The little Stéphane, grown up, looks at the sky, the moon, the sea, and once again desires to rise to another world, towards the "Idéal" where his spirit can find solace from the "mal de vivre"; but by now the time for dreams, for fantasies, has passed. Only nostalgia, desire, and bitterness remain. In the introspective "Écailles de Lune", we find complex Post Rock/Shoegaze textures, but also purely Black elements, such as the scream and blast beat: wonderful auras and landscapes beyond which, however, a dark, cold, and melancholic territory rises.

The nocturnal title-track, divided into 2 parts, gives us an example of this, where this sense of disenchantment and frustration dominates. "Écailles de Lune Pt. I" presents both a long soft and enchanted section in the first half, and a speeding up instrumentally toward the end, hinting at what will be the second part of the track.

"Écailles de Lune Pt. II" opens with a "celestial" and "maritime" arpeggio that rocks in the waves of the sea only to be interrupted by riffs more inclined to Black; indeed, right afterward, the "nervous" and unpredictable, sharper guitars pave the way, the aggressive drums, and the singing turns into a tormented scream. Midway through the track, it resumes that initial calm to which Neige's clean and mournful singing clings. The entire track is therefore characterized by reprises, sudden bursts, moments of fury and rage, and others of pause and calm. An enchanting chiaroscuro that fascinates and captures the listener from the outset.

"Percées de Lumière" is opened by an evocative riff to which Neige once again decides to combine his angry scream, only to let himself be guided by emotions in the song's second part. Undoubtedly, this is the most driven track based on a pressing and energetic melodic rhythm, and Neige's piercing scream perfectly fits the context of the track.

"Abysses" lasting 1 minute and 47 seconds is the shortest track on the entire album. Despite its simplicity, it is a very atmospheric song with abstract sound effects, dividing the work into two well-distinct parts. The interlude, with ambient influences, immerses us completely in the marine depths with bluish colors beautifully anticipated by the particular cover.

"Solar Song" recalls the ethereal sounds of "Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde". In this song, Neige's voice, or rather the sweet, angelic, and evocative vocalizations seem to soar towards the sky on a very positive melody, still with a bit of hope, where the always charged guitars, however, seem to relax along with a slower drum that accompanies it all.

The concluding "Sur l'Océan Couleur de Fer" is enchanting, on which the album fades, laid on the verses of the namesake poem by Paul-Jean Toulet (1867-1920) calmly sung. This track manages to grow with each listen, and in it, Neige does nothing but abandon himself to the sensations where the slow and "liquid" acoustic guitars become more and more expressive thanks also to the "shy" drums that gradually fade until they merge and almost disappear into the sea foam.

Thanks to his strong sensitivity, Neige is capable of taking an image and making it his own, internalizing it, reworking it, and finally transforming it into a work of art hard to forget. "Écailles de Lune" is truly a work of art, like its two predecessors, where magic still reigns and the project's quality is once again confirmed, thanks to high-level compositions and melodic moments of great value, both in the more impetuous and the more reflective situations, which deeply mark even the "minor" pieces of this work, always leaving something for the listener.

Tracklist and Videos

01   Écailles de lune, Part 1 (09:52)

02   Écailles de lune, Part 2 (09:48)

03   Percées de lumière (06:38)

04   Abysses (01:47)

05   Solar Song (05:24)

06   Sur l'océan couleur de fer (08:18)

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Other reviews

By Lord_Helvete

 Écailles de Lune explores the light and shadow of human emotions, capable of transporting us into a world first innocent and bright; then dark and depressive.

 Neige once again succeeded in the feat of producing a qualitatively excellent and extremely exciting album.


By Cerino83

 All the ingredients of the previous record are present (an imposing wall of sound that blends with excellent melodies).

 In Écailles De Lune (part I) and Solar Song are the true gems of this album that take us back to the sound of My Bloody Valentine of Loveless without mimicking the Anglo-Irish group.