Review Summary: This is just the beginning.
Firstly, an introduction is needed for this intriguing four-piece whose name, ‘BRUIT’, literally translates from French to English as ‘noise’. Recently signed on to the ever-growing Elusive Sound roster, BRUIT ≤ hail from Toulouse and in October 2018 they released their first EP, titled ‘Monolith’.
Prior to this EP, only a few amateur recordings of song-snippets existed so now is the perfect time to delve into the fresh sound produced by these French noisemakers.
In this reviewer’s opinion, categorising BRUIT ≤ purely as a post rock band is a lazy judgement. What we have here is a band already carving out a niche all their own, thanks to a creative use of sharp electronics, classical song structures and trip-hop beats.
The EP is split into two tracks, spanning nearly 23 minutes. The first and shortest track, Bloom, begins with playful plucking of strings which are soon joined by a bright and stuttering beat and sweeping strings. The track builds to a satisfying apex at its midpoint when synths dance in and out of the increasingly fraught-sounding strings before a brief calm envelops. The final crescendo is a particular highlight of this record as the strings grow tall amidst the cascading electronics before it all collapses in a fury of percussion.
After such an energetic opening, the second and final track, The Fall, is an exercise in slow-burn and thought-provocation. A deep-seated kick thumps its introduction before a glitchy beat and reverbed cello partner up to take you through to a sampled Bernie Sanders who, back in 2003 gave an impassioned address to the then Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States, Alan Greenspan, the sample referencing his ignorance of working class America...
“The country club and the cocktail parties are not real America. The millionaires and billionaires are the exception to the rule.”
With that last sentence repeated twice more, The Fall begins its slow climb towards its final act. A ponderous beat labours in front of vast strings and Luc Blanchot’s urgent, wailing cello. The climax eventually surrounds the listener in a wall of distortion with the cello taking centre stage as it sirens around the mix.
BRUIT ≤ do not come across like a new band finding their sound, both in production and composition. Instead, post rock has a band the genre can get truly excited about in the years to come. It seems only correct to end this review in their words, taken from a recent interview: “This is just the beginning.”
