After four years of silence L’Effondras return with “Anabasis”, their highly anticipated third full-length, out now on Medication Time Records (Bruit, HININ, Glassing, Ingrina, Spotlights, etc..), in. cooperation with Araki, Kerviniou, and 98db. Filled with hypnotic soundscapes that blend post-rock, post-metal noise and ambient, the new album comes as endlessly intelligent and showcases a band that have hit on an identity that is equally complexing, transcendental and engaging. Five new hypnotic, haunting, and aerial tracks, exploring buildups and variations using their untypical sophisticated melodies. Dive into it below.
This record is a natural progression in the band’s body of work, clarifying their aesthetics in five haunted & hypnotic tracks. “Anabasis” not only expands the approach initiated on 2017’s “Les Flavescences” but also explores more emotional & personal territories without losing an inch of the band’s gritty trademark.
L’Effondras pushes even further their bluesy noise to create an immersive experience with beautifully unsettling soundscapes. The band sat down with us to share their top inspirations and influential records dear to their hearts. See the full list below.
Oxbow / An Evil Heat
Nico: This album changed my vision and way of making music. It’s the most organic, beautiful, risky album ever for me. It’s like the band knows where they are heading to, but they don’t know which paths they’re gonna take. Outstanding. Everything I like in music is condensed in these 9 tracks.
Earth / Hex : Or Printing in the Infernal Method
Nico: For me the best Earth album, along with Earth 2. So calm, quiet, graceful. I used to listen to this one on repeat, and it never disappointed me once. Love the sensation of being under water while listening to this album, especially for a band called Earth.
Harvey Milk / The Singles
Nico: One of the most underrated bands ever. The perfect mix between punk, metal, doom, lo fi, rock n roll… This band is free of all codes, like the Melvins, but in a deeper way for me. I feel a real and true feeling of liberty while listening to this LP.
Etnografinis Ansamblis / Senoji Lietuviu Liaudies Muzika
Raoul: …meaning “Ancient Lithuanian Folklore Music”. Etnografinis Ansamblis are (should i say “were”?) a vocal ensemble. Since I do not know what the songs are about, this all seems even more mysterious to me. I just let the repetitiveness of these short songs take me on an inner trip. The first time listening to this compilation of old folk tunes was the strongest experience of anemoia i’ve ever felt. You may not get the meaning, but these songs take you places.
Jake Holmes / A letter to Katherine December
Raoul: This album sits at the very top of my favorites. Jake Holmes penned classic songs such as “Dazed & confused”, but was left forgotten from the mainstream music scene at the time. A letter… is his 2nd studio album. He later went on writing scores for TV ads. The artistry on this album is outstanding, from the composition to the playing. Yet another mind blowing album that should see more recognition.
Michael Hurley / First songs
Raoul: There is something profoundly moving about Hurley’s first album, recorded at age 22. I’ve always had a soft spot for folk outsiders of his kind. His heartfelt singing on the record makes it timeless. A favorite soundtrack to accompany these hazy Sunday mornings.
Erik Satie / Early Piano Works (played by Leeuw)
Pierre: It’s pretty hard to explain why I find these pieces sublime… What moves through this (the feeling of absence, the breath of time, immemorial stuff, etc) are indescribable things. His work is unlike anything else, isolated from all the artistic movements of his time, but nobody represents this period (Paris end of the XIXth century) as great as he did. Technically, behind the apparent simplicity, each note is essential and his pieces are very difficult to play, all is about interpretation, feelings.
Slint / Spiderland
Pierre: I remember well when we discovered Slint. We were about 16 and it was one of those typical Winter’s days in our countryside when fog stagnates for weeks. One of our friends dug out Spiderland from a library in the city and then for the first time we listened to something that suited so accurately what was surrounding us. It acted like an enlargement of the poetic field. Suddenly we understood that it was possible to create some beauty with elements that were previously considered as bleak or trivial. No need to embellish things when you are able to translate them authentically.
Skip James / Today!
Pierre: Regarding his skills, Skip James could be seen as a prince in the pantheon of the 20s’-30s’ bluesmen. He had everything : an astonishing, nimble fingering technique and a clear, beautiful and appealing voice. He could also play the piano. Most people know the story : he was paid a few bucks for his early recordings, lived quite poorly until he was rediscovered in the mid-60s’, earning enough money then to pay for his funeral. On this recording he is at the end of his life, but his voice delivers something even more luminous and hopeful yet vulnerable.
Nirvana / From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
Pierre: I could have chosen In Utero which is my favorite but this one is the first one I got from them and most generally the first rock record I’ve ever heard. No need to say it was a revelation. I still feel the music of Nirvana as one of the most honest things ever made in rock and its purity refocuses myself each time I listen to it.
And as a bonus : Rroselicoeur / Drachenhöhle:
