Les Discrets
Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées

Well, yes, it still happens: you can still get excited, you can still get excited in the year 2010, in the metal scene, for a young band making their debut.

Except for the split with their compatriots Alcest, “Septembre et ses Dernières Pensées” is the first full-length of the entity Les Discrets, behind which there is actually only one man: Fursy Teyssier, a young musician, poet, and illustrator (also the creator of the evocative artwork for the aforementioned Alcest).

The matrix is black metal, but a third/fourth generation black metal, drawing inspiration from bands already well outside the genre like Katatonia, Ulver, and obviously the masters Alcest, in a free and progressive metal expression (in the noble sense of the term) unshackled by bands like Opeth and (why not?) our own Novembre. But the discourse extends further, landing in the realms of the most sorrowful dark, the most ethereal folk, and even the most dreamy post-rock.

I have always thought that black metal represents one of the most important evolutions full of potential for metal as a whole, and if metal has a future, it must necessarily pass through black metal (and obviously hardcore). Because black metal is malleable, vibrant, incandescent material, well-suited for psychedelia as for post-rock, as well as dark and folk. And the further metal departs from metal, the more it gains (after all, the masterpieces of the eighties remain, no one is stealing them, right?), particularly in the eyes of those who can no longer stand certain trite clichés, horrifying screaming, hymns to the Malign, incitements to suicide, and assorted devilry. And for this reason, one appreciates the intent to make such language one's own (a language that can become dramatic, dreamlike, tense, furious, introspective, poetic, mystical and so much more) as a vehicle for expressing one's feelings and worldview: a vision that merges the self with the wider natural world, in a romantic sense that begins with nineteenth-century literature and translates into songwriting, though in the electrified form typical of our times. A collision/fusion/reunion between skin and rain, eyes and sky, breath and wind, twilight and soul.

But beyond the (successful in itself) formula, what makes Teyssier's debut unmissable is the deep inspiration that runs through all ten tracks of which this gem of the extreme (no longer extreme) is composed. Indeed, one could almost say that the work is simple, elementary, proceeding linearly, not revolutionizing the way of conceiving and making music as we know it, and at most invigorating a movement: this sort of nouvelle vague originated by the pioneering Alcest, undoubtedly standard-bearers of transalpine black metal, authors of that “Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde” (from 2007) which remains one of the last works capable of saying something truly new within the genre.

And obviously, the Alcest of his friend Neige remain the prime point of reference for understanding the fascinating world of Les Discrets, among whose ranks we also find, not by chance, Alcest's own drummer Winterhalter and the counterpoints of Audrey Hadorn's fairy voice, who lent her voice precisely in the notorious “Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde”. But compared to his friend Neige, Teyssier emancipates himself even more from the typical stylistic approaches of the genre, crafting a product that could actually be more simply defined as rock. Of black metal, only a few hints remain: the grittiness of the riffs, the sound rarefaction (enveloping and caressing before even being bewildering), and some (sporadic) acceleration. But overall, this remains music for all tastes, and despite the reference (from the title) to typically autumnal moods, despite the rain's downpour and the crows' cawing, Les Discrets' music carries something universal, remaining relevant at any time of the year, fitting well within the varied flow of daily life, in the sweet company of one's solitude, abandoned to the currents of one’s inner movements, as if in the frantic walking among the twists of this screaming and cacophonous world that surrounds us.

Dirty guitars but full of a tormented melancholy alternate with dreamy acoustic arrangements; melodic lines à la Cure and sound stratifications worthy of the best post-rock set up emotional crescendos that, combined with the crystal-clear voices and the smooth, reiterating progression of the drums (as happened in the early Katatonia, whose ghost will hover for the entire platter), will capture you at first listen. Only time will tell if the goodness Teyssier gifts us today will be enduring or just the brilliance of a moment.

Therefore, it’s difficult and pointless to proceed with a track-by-track, even though there would be things to write, given the high amount of influences, nevertheless reworked with spontaneity and naturalness until they are transformed into the mirror of the fragile and gentle soul of this young storyteller.

A track that personally drives me crazy is “Les Feuilles de l'Olivier”, which starts by reminding me (not from a lyrical point of view, obviously) of the panicked ecstasy of the incipit of Emperor's famous “Inno a Satana”, only to settle into the dreamy sounds of Ulver's equally famous “Bergtatt” (perfectly combining speed and folk-Gregorian style vocal overlaps), to end beautifully with sublime, otherworldly psychedelia racing at the speed of light, worthy of the latest Wolves in the Throne Room.

But from the brief ambient introduction of “L'Envol des Corbeaux” to the heart-wrenching, childish, sweet, calming (adjectives are not enough to describe it!) folk ballad “Une Matinée d'Hiver”, “Septembre et ses Dernières Pensées” will cradle you and never bore you, gently engulfing you in a poetic and changing world that well reflects the refined artwork (by Teyssier himself) which perfectly complements a wonderfully crafted work.

Perhaps it doesn't deserve the highest ratings, given the evident references to other bands that knew, years before and with much more courage, how to overthrow a hostile genre, apparently immutable and inevitably anchored to an unusually fierce approach such as black metal; but everything is amalgamated with such expertise and inspiration that this “Septembre et ses Dernières Pensées” certainly deserves to be considered, listened to, experienced, and perhaps even taken as an example of a continuous evolution that one hopes may never end.