BeurreNoir!

BLacK TrasH FonTainE

Written by: BV on 11/11/2013 17:53:18

Having first stumbled upon their debut EP ”Golden Virginia!” sometime in 2009 through the recommendation of a friend, BeurreNoir manifested themselves in my mind as distinctly art-punk. Granted, I am no aficionado in that particular field but I do enjoy a good art-punk album nonetheless. Now, some four years after that, the trio’s newly released album “BLacK TrasH FonTainE” has somehow found its way towards my to-do list of albums to review.

Picking up where “Golden Virgina!” left off, all of the songs have once again been dubbed quite unusual titles – titles that are also, without exception, topped off with exclamation marks. But how does it sound, then? Let’s take “tHe FroggY!!” for instance – whilst starting out relatively quiet with the vocals slowly rising in intensity, the soundscape first gets really appealing as the full instrumentation enters. What’s ‘punk-sounding’ about this, is mostly the proto-punk attitude that practically oozes all over this and the other tracks. Through tracks like “tHe DarKbaD!!” and “tHe BiLLy BoNeS!!” I’m hearing a vibe that reminds quite a bit of “Fun House”-era The Stooges with some added cacophony for good measure – sort of like Narcosatanicos without the constant need for sonic bombardments. The sheer intensity of the tracks, the quality musicianship and the rambunctious fuzziness of the soundscape makes for both a sonic assault as well as an interesting listen – exactly as I first recall feeling about bands like The Stooges.

There’s also something else in the soundscape I’m finding it quite hard to describe, but on tracks like “tHe SoNg fOr tHe Dead!!” there is a distinctly low-key vibe that I find strangely unsettling. Usually I would be relieved when hearing a track like this in the midst of a sonic assault, but seeing as I’ve found most of the tracks on the album to keep me ‘on the edge of my seat’ in utter anticipation, I can’ help but feel the same way with a track as straightforward as this. The sudden outburst of energy somewhere around the middle of the track comes off as exciting, but also strangely predictable for a band that seemingly thrives on being somewhat unpredictable. Nonetheless, the introduction of a lush organ does get the better of me as I simply can’t withstand the fuzz-guitar + lush organ combination.

In essence, I still find BeurreNoir intriguing. However, I also think they have still got some way to go before evolving into something truly unique, ‘artistic’ and exciting. They’re working on the formula though, and the songs are quite a lot better than what they initially showed off on “Golden Virgina!”. Perhaps their next release will be what I’m yearning for within this genre-spectrum? No one knows, but I can sure hope. Until then, BeurreNoir can still take pride in this album and use it as a platform for further work.

7

Download: tHe FroggY!!, tHe eL GriNgo!!, tHe DarKbaD!!
For The Fans Of: Coxcombs, Fun House-era The Stooges, Narcosatanicos
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 10.10.2013
Free Kids Records


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