Feu Therese
Feu Therese
Constellation
Another release playing against type, Feu Therese’s self-titled debut fills the void left by Fly Pan Am’s recent departure into long-term hiatus. Pan Am’s signatures are still intact: pink noise guitar squalls colliding with insistent rhythm sections and a careening approach to songwriting where linearity of any sort is a hindrance. Opener “Ferrari En Feu” sees the six-string hubris coalesce into bouncy electro melodies something along the line of Stereolab before they slipped gently into lounge music. The formula is reversed two tracks later on “Tu N’Aveis Qu’une Orielle,” in which a shimmering, processed Air-like melody serves as a palate for chaos to mount. Following the path of abstraction, “L’Homme Avec Coeur Avec Elle” kicks off with Joy Division/New Order’s lengthy synth chords, but soon opens up on cool jazz horizons and a subsequent cartoonish squawk overtop. When “Ce N’est Pas Les Jardins Du Luxembourg” hits, the band’s intent is in full-effect. Minimal electronic blips and bleeps are spliced to field recordings and various other instrumental experimentation. This isn’t the type of avant-garde music that’s inherently alienating or pretentious. Even on this track, Feu Therese move the song inevitably towards coherence, buttressing the collage with a driving drum beat and organ drone. While most of Constellation’s previous material has haunted autumn and winter, with this release the label has its first quirky record for spring.
Constellation: http://www.cstrecords.com
