Void
My Kingdom, 2022
8/10
A very adventurous French outfit with a penchant for avant-garde sounds that embrace trip-hop, metal, coldwave and various forms of pop and rock, the 9 tracks of Void don’t fit into any easy category, and it’s quite an interesting journey.
“iR” begins the listen with firm keys, spoken word and some raw singing buried under a warm melody, and “Red Lights” follows with a slow, ominous appeal that shifts into a very diverse version of rock that’s piano friendly and flirts with pop ideas, too.
“At Last One Never Exists” lands in the middle and offers a hypnotic approach that’s a bit dreamy in an almost chanting sort of way, while “Re” is a pretty, swirling album highlight that’s lush, melodic and full of timeless song craft.
“Tapeworm” and “VS” exit the listen, where the former pairs agile drumming with plenty of prog-like sounds, and the latter brings violin from Oisava and wordless singing into the string focused and ambient textures.
A very artistic and creative endeavor spearheaded by Guillaume Beringer, who sings and plays most of the instruments, the contributions on piano, vocals and strings makes for a very atypical, absorbing listen that you won’t soon forget.
Travels well with: Trojan Panda- Peau; Gilles Poizat- Champignon Flamme