Alcest
Le Secret (Re-release)

4.5
superb

Review

by BigHans USER (97 Reviews)
August 17th, 2011 | 96 replies | 7,932 views

Release Date: 2011 | Tracklist

Review Summary: This is a good album.

14 of 14 thought this review was well written

Because we are talking about a shoegaze/black metal hybrid here and this record is absolutely gorgeous, I could pontificate ad-nauseum with wistful metaphors to describe the borderline transcendent power of this music. I could proclaim loudly how “Le Secret” and “Elevation” have these slow building epic soundscapes that remind you of strolling through a tranquil forest in autumn astride a mighty unicorn or some ridiculously corny sh*t like that. I could regale you all with sweeping prose about the majestic power and beauty on display here, how it’s like wondering into some Goddamn cave with dripping water made even more awesome by piercing sunlight or some overpoweringly pretentious sh*t of the like.

Instead let’s just get straight to the damn point, because I don’t really know that much about blast beats and tremolo picking and am not going to waste anybody’s time trying to describe the black metal influences vs shogaze in any kind of focused, linear way. This EP has 4 tracks and two songs, with two versions of each, an original from 2006 and a re-recorded version from this year. The re-recorded ones are infinitely better in their production and are thus vastly superior overall, although the originals are strong in their own right, maybe even better if you enjoy sh*ttier production. “Le Secret” is mostly a shoegaze track with angelic vocals and a driving sense of melody, and it’s a damn good song. “Elevation” is probably one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard. It’s about 14 minutes long, and it’s astoundingly gorgeous. I can’t tell you if this is better than their last full-length although “Elevation” is absolutely better than anything on that album. Even if you hate black metal, shoegaze, the French, or think you’re too manly to listen to something that makes you want to careen through a glistening dewy meadow wearing sparkly stuff or some reprehensibly gay sh*t like that, you should probably at least give this a try.

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