Indochine
Alice & June

Three years after releasing an album that sold over a million copies in France alone, the first live album to debut at number one on the French charts, and yet another line-up change, Indochine aims to replicate that success with the release of their first double album of original tracks. The result is "Alice & June".

Like its predecessor "Paradize", this release features renowned guests: the most notable being Brian Molko, the singer of Placebo, who sings in "Pink Water". The sounds change significantly from "Paradize", as the distortion is replaced by the catchiness of the tracks, and there are many more rock gallops. After a brief introduction "La Promesse", some dark piano notes open "Les Portes Du Soir", and already here you notice how the band wants to highlight the bass played by a very energetic Marc Eliard, at the expense of the distorted guitars that found a release in "Paradize". "Alice & June", the first single, and "Gang Bang" are two catchy rock tracks with a fast pace, where the leader Nicola Sirkis seems to want to reimagine the musical sounds of the old album "Wax" from 1996, an underrated record of the group. "Ladyboy" is not an unforgettable track, very catchy, dark but not thrilling. In "Black Page", however, a distorted guitar finds space in a piece already strong in itself. But a masterpiece of the group is the track sung with Brian Molko. "Pink Water III", the French-English version, sees the best electronic sounds of Indochine mixed with those of Placebo: the track is a long carpet of keyboards that elevate the piece almost angelically and is perfectly interpreted by the Parisian singer and the distinguished guest. In "Adora", on the other hand, the band perfectly unites all the sounds that have characterized them from their beginnings to today. "Un Homme Dans La Bouche" is a dark music attempt, not very successful but not to be discarded. "Vibrator" is a rock surge that grabs you from the first notes and doesn't let go until the end. Less catchy than the previous songs, but more engaging. The first CD closes with "Ceremonia", where strings and '80s synthesizers also make an appearance. A first disc that leaves the listener dry-mouthed, with little quality and many disappointments.

"Le Pacte" is the introduction of the second disc, followed by "June", a piece that already from the first notes implies that the best is yet to come and in "Sweet Dreams" an acoustic guitar can be heard. Finally, the good stuff arrives: "Belle & Sebastiane" is a track that justifies buying the double album. The melody heavily characterizes the group and recalls bygone times. In "Crash Me", rock and electronic music blend perfectly, but the choirs and synthesizers elevate the piece to a very high level of craftsmanship. Now come two duets: "Aujourd'hui Je Pleure", also performed by AqMe, and "Harry Poppers", written and performed in collaboration with Didier Wampas. The first track is the only one not written by members of Indochine where the nine total members of the two bands seem to want to unleash anger from deep within their hearts, also expressed by the voices of the two singers who interpret the piece in the best way possible. The second duet, however, has a faster and tighter rhythm, maintaining the anger of the previous song expressed even by Wampas, who sings like a punk singer from the late '70s. The contrast with "Talulla" is noteworthy. In fact, it is an acoustic, sweet, and melancholic song that once again leaves a mark on the listener's heart. "Morphine" seems like a continuation of "Juste Toi Et Moi", but the result is truly excellent, capable of positively surprising and moving the listener until the end. The closing tracks are "Starlight", played with Scala and Kolacny Bros, an unchallenging and very convincing song, and "Pink Water II", the English version, to complete a truly excellent second disc.

The lyrics have not all been published yet, but in terms of music, the duo Sirkis/Gérard wanted to involve the other members more, achieving not very exciting and sometimes disappointing results, except for bassist Marc Eliard. Due to the first disc of the two, the total marks the lowest point reached by the group in the last ten years of activity, given previous works "Wax" (1996), "Dancetaria" (1999), and the undisputed masterpiece "Paradize" (2002), although it also contains high-quality compositions.