Even with hindsight being 20/20, it was easy to predict that France's
Alcest
, would eventually cast off black metal's influence on its sound. While
Burzum
's
Filosofem
provided inspiration for 2007's full-length debut,
Souvenirs d'un Autre
, recordings by
My Bloody Valentine
,
Ride
Slowdive
, and
Lush
did too.
may not have been the first "blackgaze" band, but until
Deafheaven
broke through with 2013's brilliant
Sunbather
, they were its most famous proponents.
Shelter
's fourth album, finally transcends all of metal's musical, sonic, and aesthetic tropes. It is deeply indebted to its '90s British inspirational sources and wholly invested in the melodic sensibilities this group has displayed from the very beginning. Songwriter/multi-instrumentalist
Neige
(
Stephane Paut
) and drummer
Jean "Winterhalter" Deflandre
enlisted
Sigur Ros
' Sundlaugin Studio, and its producer,
Birgir Jon Birgisson
. His sonic imprint is readily apparent on the brief, gauzy intro "Wings," and remains constant. Other Icelandic participants include the string quartet from the group
Amiina
.
is a straight, ecstatic homage to the shoegaze sound of the '90s --
Neil Halstead
even provides lead vocals on "Away."
is meant to be played loud, with layers of swooning guitars, buttery yet forceful drums, "pretty" feedback, dreamily sung lyrics, and other woozy textural effects that erect an aural, watery warmth that the listener can get lost in for a time. Examples are in the charging, wide-open embrace of "Opale," the harmonic layers of voices, guitars, keyboards, and ambient effects that are nearly erotic in their sensuality on "La Nuit Marche Avec Moi," and in the deliberate, almost processional reverence and rhapsodic emotion that meld flesh and spirit in the title track. The set's longest number, "Deliverance," is a nocturnal flood of acoustic and electric guitars washing together with dramatic drum flourishes, and
Billie Lindahl
's soaring backing vocals that very nearly close the album in a shattering union of beauty and intensity; that is, until
dials it all back and gently whispers it out on a single transcendent note. If there is criticism for
, it's that it sounds as if
are inching rather than stepping forward and stasis has a hold on them; but with the band's catalog as argument, that's deliberate. Musical movement aside, it's a lovely sounding record. Even in its self-conscious worship of shoegaze it could easily become a late addition to that genre's canon.
is well-crafted, vulnerable, and honest. ~ Thom Jurek