Alcest - Spiritual Instinct
Key Facts
Country: 🇫🇷
Genre: Blackgaze
Release Date: 25th October 2019
Record Label(s): Nuclear Blast
Band Members
St̩phane "Neige" Paut Рlead vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass
Jean "Winterhalter" Deflandre – drums, percussion
Alcest - Sapphire
Review
Rating (out of 5🤘): 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Favourite Track(s): Les Jardins De Minuit, Sapphire, Protection, L'île Des Morts
For the record, Alcest did not have to go so hard on this album, but they did and I have entered a new realm of living. For me this is a phenomenal yet chaotically beautiful album that showcases the talent that these guys have. This is such a mystical album and there is a lot to interpret and decipher but ultimately it is an album the sees Alcest reagin the form of early Alcest, harking back to albums gone by such as 2010's Écailles de Lune and my personal favourite (until today) 2012's Les Voyages de l'Âme. This album really does get into your spiritual senses and puts you in a state of higher being, with the grace of the elves from Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings (which is something I've personally associated with this band). One thing I can say for everyone though, it is great to see Alcest back on form!
Musically, the first thing that is noticeable is that every song is carried by such a strong yet equally delicate set of melodies. If it's one thing Neige knows how to do and do it well, it's writing good melodies. There are some elements that have been carried through from 2016's Kodama in terms of song structure and melodic devices but ultimately it's the music of 2010's Écailles de Lune and 2012's Les Voyages de l'Âme with the vocals and harmonies of Kodama. Which is why I believe that Spiritual Instinct is the band's strongest album to date. There is also something quite interesting about the song Sapphire, Neige stated that the lyrics are in his made up language as he felt he could have more freedom expressing himself, or words to that effect (to the unknowing ear it does still sound a lot like French). It's not the first time musicians have done that but in this context there is something very articulate and exact in what the band are trying to express. My mind has been filled with elegant imagery listening to this album, and if you go back to Les Voyages de l'Âme there is a song on that album called Beings Of Light and it's where I first drew my own association of the Lord Of The Rings Elvish imagery with this band. It feels like we have returned to that on Spiritual Instinct. Whilst is carries the typical Alcest sound there is something very indie yet prog about how the songs have been written and come together. It feels much more expansive than it's 2016 predecessor Kodama. With this more intense focus on atmospherics and melody we see a more mature and thoughtful Alcest. There seems to be an air of introspection, knowing how hard the band have worked on this album by following it's journey into being on Facebook and other social media, it comes through in the album and it feels like the band have reevaluated what it means to be Alcest again as I personally think they were a bit wayward with the last two releases. Even so, this album is beautifully crafted and it hits all the right places for me as a musician and a music listener, every time I've listened to it there is always something new that I've found in it. The richness of its layers and textures is truly intriguing and fascinating. This is easily one of my favourite albums of the year.
Musically, the first thing that is noticeable is that every song is carried by such a strong yet equally delicate set of melodies. If it's one thing Neige knows how to do and do it well, it's writing good melodies. There are some elements that have been carried through from 2016's Kodama in terms of song structure and melodic devices but ultimately it's the music of 2010's Écailles de Lune and 2012's Les Voyages de l'Âme with the vocals and harmonies of Kodama. Which is why I believe that Spiritual Instinct is the band's strongest album to date. There is also something quite interesting about the song Sapphire, Neige stated that the lyrics are in his made up language as he felt he could have more freedom expressing himself, or words to that effect (to the unknowing ear it does still sound a lot like French). It's not the first time musicians have done that but in this context there is something very articulate and exact in what the band are trying to express. My mind has been filled with elegant imagery listening to this album, and if you go back to Les Voyages de l'Âme there is a song on that album called Beings Of Light and it's where I first drew my own association of the Lord Of The Rings Elvish imagery with this band. It feels like we have returned to that on Spiritual Instinct. Whilst is carries the typical Alcest sound there is something very indie yet prog about how the songs have been written and come together. It feels much more expansive than it's 2016 predecessor Kodama. With this more intense focus on atmospherics and melody we see a more mature and thoughtful Alcest. There seems to be an air of introspection, knowing how hard the band have worked on this album by following it's journey into being on Facebook and other social media, it comes through in the album and it feels like the band have reevaluated what it means to be Alcest again as I personally think they were a bit wayward with the last two releases. Even so, this album is beautifully crafted and it hits all the right places for me as a musician and a music listener, every time I've listened to it there is always something new that I've found in it. The richness of its layers and textures is truly intriguing and fascinating. This is easily one of my favourite albums of the year.
From a production standpoint, it can't be faulted in my opinion. Everything is crystal clear and clean yet still has this warm fuzziness to it which just brings it all together. Blackgaze itself is an interesting genre, as both shoe gaze and black metal rely on creating an elaborate atmosphere around the music, so I can imagine if it's hybrid, blackgaze, is not done correctly then it can be a muddy, reverb mess more akin to a Sunn 0))) album. However, there are no problems with that here, for me there is a perfect balance between the raw aggression of the heavier parts of the songs and the softer more melodic parts of the songs. I've always been a massive fan of Neige's guitar tones, they're like this fuzzy/clean hybrid almost contradictory but it works so well in my opinion, capturing the magnificence of the melody and the grittiness of the chords, and he knows how to use the tone with dynamics to create the best sound for the song which is an art form in itself. One thing that has really stuck out with the album is the bass, a couple of times it's been a focal point in certain segments of some songs, most noticeably in Les Jardins De Minuit, where it's gritty rumblings open the song up and eventually into its black metal frenzy. There is a lot more weight in the low end with this album compared to previous releases which is really anchoring down the lofty highs and floating synth sounds. Overall, it is a superbly mixed album and sure to satisfy your blackgaze needs.
I've waited for this album for a long time and was not disappointed, make sure you check out Spiritual Instinct, and just Alcest in general, these guys are masters at what they do and this album is another stunning effort that proves that.
I've waited for this album for a long time and was not disappointed, make sure you check out Spiritual Instinct, and just Alcest in general, these guys are masters at what they do and this album is another stunning effort that proves that.
Alcest - Spiritual Instinct
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