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Rating: Belle Epoque are an emerging screamo band (or emoviolence, if you will, but I prefer screamo), French, which confirms what has been the trend in recent years in Europe, that is, French screamo bands (without taking anything away from the Italian screamo scene) are keeping up with the bands made in the USA.
However, it's not only 'Daitro' and 'Sed Non Satiata' representing this scene; there is a whole submerged iceberg that goes by the name 'The Third Memory', 'Aussitot Mort', and, indeed, 'Belle Epoque'.
The album in question is "A' la dérive" and I must say, partly because it can be downloaded for free from their official website, and partly because I really like French screamo, especially this screamo here, it has fascinated me a great deal. First of all, it is a screamo that sets itself apart significantly from other European screamo trends, like the Italian scene, for a whole series of aesthetic-musical values: it's a screamo that is very much "cleaner" and less "gritty" and hammering, where the instrumental breakdowns turn out to be very melodic.
In this album, there is an almost perfectly balanced mix of gritty parts with guitars that, however, are never too distorted where the screaming voice expresses all the despair and anguish it needs to express, to much calmer parts where the sweeping melody of the bass and the irregular and spasmodic rhythm of the drums blend with the high notes of the guitar.
It is possible to understand how all this lends itself well to a vocal interpretation in the French language, rich in literary quotes (you can go to the website to see the lyrics that, even if not fully understood, still evoke a strong emotional impact) in 'Sed Non Satiata' style (who indeed quote Boudelaire). It is an album that should be listened to from start to finish in one go to grasp its true essence.
The opening track summarizes what I have written so far, and the breakdowns that follow the screaming verses, where the bass takes center stage in the first part and the guitar in the second, marking perfect melodies, are very particular and beautiful. The double-voice screaming epilogue is very nice. Then follow two songs, so to speak "complementary," that pave the way to the central piece, in my opinion, of the album, that is "il est trop tard", where, after a beginning that establishes the melody of the track, it moves to parts where the screaming, with well-articulated French, combines with the guitar that marks the melody, continually taking up the theme and modifying it each time in what could be described as a succession of snippets.
"On a cultive la distance", on the other hand, is a track where the screaming steps aside, and a more eloquent, very anguished spoken part comes in. The album then concludes with a track that goes in a counter-trend compared to the rest of the album, that is "une simple Étoile", which stands out for a long central instrumental part (the track lasts 6 minutes and 13) and an outro truly noteworthy. Indeed, there follow chords that give the piece a heightened melody, and drums with constant fills that never "manage" to pick up the rhythm, but seem suspended in this finale; in the last seconds, it's as if one surrenders to something, lets oneself be overwhelmed by something exhausting.
The track ends, almost reminiscent of a flame that has gone out but that continued to fight until the end, aware, however, of never having truly burned, caught between agony, anguish, and anger.
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