Scenius: 13 Billion Darkish Years
CD | DL
Out there from 24 October
The synth-pop collaboration that’s Scenius from Leeds and Angers (in France), continues to slip into darkness. Neil Crud crafts his work and listens to their third album.
Scenius, the Anglo-French duo recognized for weaving post-punk angst into crisp, trendy darkish synth-pop, have delivered their most thematically formidable work but with their third full-length album, ‘13 Billion Darkish Years’. Positioning the cosmic ‘Darkish Ages’ – the interval earlier than the primary stars ignited – as a metaphor for modern-day uncertainty, the album is a masterclass in managed stress and spacious digital manufacturing.
Whereas the advance singles gave us a glimpse into their spatial power, the true power of this album lies in its deep cuts, which offer the essential environment and emotional texture wanted to maintain the conceptual weight of the title.
The album opens with the title observe, 13 Billion Darkish Years, it immediately units the tone. It’s a sluggish, unfolding piece of kosmische music, constructed on an evolving, chilly, broad, sweeping analog synth sound with a sluggish funeral march for a beat. It creates a sense of huge, terrifying stillness – the sound of an empty universe.
Swift As Gentle, then explodes the mirth, with its upbeat rhythm and Fabrice Nau’s indifferent, melodic vocal supply, feeling like a success single. Golden By No Means is a standout deep minimize, buying and selling the dance ground urgency for a stark, New Order-esque gloom. It encompasses a sharp, metallic bassline driving a mid-tempo beat, whereas the vocal supply is especially resigned, reflecting the futility inherent within the album’s metaphor. It’s one of the vital affecting moments, maybe confirming that the darkness Scenius are referring to is completely inside?
Subsequent, is the superbly daunting and haunting Humorous Sky, adopted by Each Time. This leans closely into the duo’s post-punk Kraftwerk-esq influences. The melody right here is hauntingly round, constructed round a recurring, synth motif that conveys a way of cyclic failure and repetition. The association is dense with echoing separation and layered environment, giving it the mandatory gravitas and weight to deal with the sensation of being trapped in an English/French loop.
The brief (by Scenius requirements), Guesswork continues the journey, pushing you additional into sonic house. Whereas All In Good Time, acknowledges that illumination might take eons to reach, and as soon as in a lifetime you may sit on the fence and look ahead to it to occur.
5-Arm Crystal and Blink conclude the album, the previous being typical Scenius whereas the latter virtually leaves you resigned, but uplifted on the identical time. Steve’s unbelievable widescape synth work coming to the fore one final time… Till the following time…
Scenius on Bandcamp | Fb | Instagram
Observe Neil Crud’s weblog right here
A Plea From Louder Than Warfare
Louder Than Warfare is run by a small however devoted unbiased crew, and we depend on the small amount of cash we generate to maintain the location working easily. Any cash we do get is just not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to assume and write, or hungry shareholders. We all know instances are powerful, and we wish to proceed bringing you information on essentially the most fascinating releases, the newest gigs and anything that tickles our fancy. We’re not pushed by revenue, simply pure enthusiasm for a scene that each one among us is enthusiastic about.
To us, music and tradition are eveything, with out them, our very souls shrivel and die. We don’t cost artists for the publicity we give them and to many, what we do is totally very important. Subscribing to one among our paid tiers takes only a minute, and every sign-up makes a big impact, serving to to maintain the flame of unbiased music burning! Please click on the button under to assist.
John Robb – Editor in Chief