Grace
Off, 2022
8/10
A Brussels alt-rock trio that uses violin, theremin and looping to their advantage, the multi-instrumentalists Dominique Van Cappellen-Waldock, Lucile Beauvais and Cécile Gonay, i.e. Baby Fire, make a very curious and exciting 10 tracks here.
The listen starts off with the jagged guitar and orchestral nods of “A Spell”, where nearly operatic singing helps make for a very distinct version of chamber-rock, and “Fleur de Feu” follows with a swirling display of post-punk that’s quite mesmerizing in its darker textures.
Halfway through, “Grace” features Mike Moya (Godspeed You! Black Emperor) for the haunting, nearly goth nods, while “Dance” recruits Déhá for the bass heavy and thumping drums that you could dance to.
Closer to the end, “Sing In Brightness” is quite bare in a mysterious, ominous sort of way, and “Eternal” features Laetitia Sheriff for a vocally soothing and musically sparse display of beauty and grit.
A listen that’s both powerful and delicate, even soulful at times, Cappellen-Waldock’s stirring pipes and the band’s unorthodox approach to song craft might make you might think of Shannon Wright or P.J. Harvey as reference points, but ultimately Baby Fire are on a path entirely their own, and we’re all better off for it.
Travels well with: You Said Strange- Thousand Shadows Vol. 1; The Poison Arrows- War Regards