Suis La Lune
Riala

Sometimes music can hurt. Sometimes music can wound you, stab you, and destroy you. That's why I love music so much. It brings out hidden, concealed feelings. It slams reality in my face, leaves me abandoned in a sea of sensations, and makes me stronger.

The Suis La Lune reaches my ears on a rainy, gray summer day. I've heard about them for a long time, wanted to give them a chance for a long time. Lying on the bed, bored and a little melancholic, I listen to Riala, their 2012 album released by Topshelf Records (a guarantee). A wall of screamo and post-rock crushes me and leaves me breathless. Sounds that blend violence and sweetness, tears and smiles, pitch darkness and colors. Like in the splendid "Cornea", one of the fastest and most aggressive tracks on the album. A thick and dense darkness, made even gloomier by the screamed voice that breaks and crashes in the chest. It's impossible not to be astonished by the fury of the track, inspired by the masters of the past (La Quiete and Envy above all) and reinforced by the sounds of contemporary bands (Loma Prieta and La Dispute). Majestic and bloody, it’s the perfect opening for a perfect album.

"Stop Motion" sounds more hardcore, opening up to melody, allowing the soul to take a moment to breathe. A breath that smells of wet earth, of rain, of dry leaves. "Wishes & Hopes" is damn sad, and every painful memory of the past resurfaces from that corner of memory I didn't think I would reopen so soon. It hurts, but it's a pain alleviated by Suis La Lune's music, suddenly softened by the piano and a surprising muted trumpet.

Outside, the rain wets the freshly cut grass in the garden. I hear children playing football in the rain in the distance, and I, knocked to the ground by the incredible and sharp melody of "In Confidence", let myself be carried away by the music, let my limbs and mind be entrusted to the guitars and the scratchy voice that fills my room with suffering and magic. Long arms and legs stretched out, motionless, unable to move. Hypnotized by the overwhelming beauty of "Riala", a short instrumental track (with the bittersweet taste of This Will Destroy You) that sets aside the screamo and lets the post-rock caress your face and hold your cold hand.

A perfect intimacy with the Swedish band's album, dense with everything I love in music in recent years. A perfection that condenses into the sublime final track, "One And All, Every Breath". Seven minutes in which every little particle of this album's grandeur pours out. Heart, soul, and sound embrace together and make you feel good with yourself and with the world all around. Hardcore, screamo, and post-rock embrace each other and create something extraordinary. A delirium of emotions that burn inside, warm you up, make you cry and smile, make you scream and then remain silent, alone, listening to one of the most complex and complete tracks this band has ever made.

The rain stops, a patch of blue sky opens. I can still hear the children playing, see the light entering forcefully through the window. And it all ends as it began. In my room, everything is silent now, and I, surprised, moved by the devastating beauty of this Suis La Lune album, hint at a smile of fulfillment and satisfaction. Riala is a masterpiece of our time, a screamo gem that amazes and overturns. A ray of sunshine breaking through the dense clouds of a summer storm.