Alcest
Shelter

Oxymorons.

Shelter, the new album by Alcest, is an oxymoron. A sunny but dark record, a happy but sad record. Shelter is something you don't expect, that surprises you but eventually manages to get inside you and move you. On their third album, the Parisians Alcest have stripped themselves of everything and shown who they truly are, what they truly wanted to do. Without the metallic armor, without a heavy wall to protect them. Alcest have succeeded in a difficult endeavor. They managed to remain true to their nature despite the radical musical change. They created an album that certainly won't appeal to many, but will touch the soul of many others.

This album is like a seagull lingering on the sand drenched by the winter sea. A seagull that hesitantly spreads its wings and then takes flight. It soars into the leaden air, climbing higher and higher until it surpasses the clouds and finds itself in the blue sky. This blue sky is "Opale", the first single and the most serene track of this new work by Alcest. A different flair from usual, nodding to a certain dream-pop, to the cleaner and fresher shoegaze of M83. The rest of the album is shrouded in melancholy, of solitary dreams, becoming like the hands blocking the light on the cover. In the slow and touching "Voix Sereine", beneath the layers of dreamy and shoegaze softness, lies a rougher, sadder, darker layer. A layer that never surfaces, but leaves one astonished and moved. The beautiful and atmospheric title-track demonstrates how a (former) metal band can pull a small masterpiece inspired by the epicness of Sigur Ròs from their hat without destroying everything they've done in the past.

The seagull continues flying high, carried by the intense and moving melody, through grey clouds penetrated by weak rays of sunlight. And how can one not be carried away by the touching "Away", a spectacular song with the flavor of the softest post-rock. The seagull is now happy, at peace, and feels less alone. It feels the sea breeze passing through its pristine feathers, feels free and able to escape those dark clouds. Dark clouds that in the lengthy finale "Dèlivrance" slowly part, only after allowing you to feel their looming heaviness one last time. Ten minutes of pure emotion, simple but direct and poignant.

The seagull flies, carried by the music, with no more fear of falling or getting lost. The sea from above is a blue dream, a winter paradise that brings peace to the soul. The seagull rises again, flaps its wings proudly, and disappears into the clear sky, enveloped by sun rays warming the entire landscape around it. And it no longer fears changing directions because it knows that whichever path it takes, it will be the right one.