As we all know, fohat dig holes in space, and swirling around in the psychedelic maelstrom that fills dem holes right now is a feral noise of righteous intent made by three unassuming Toulousians whom, once they cross the rubicon to form union with their instruments transform into an all-consuming riff-hydra that will steal your dreams.
Tapping into a seam of ur-energy Canek Flores the drummer will astound you with his sheer presence on The Words That Have Never Been Heard, while his compadres orbit the heavy rhythmic gravity in simpatico, creating a hypnotic sonic temple where levitation and worship to the vibration that runs through us all is in full swing, baby! I believe they call this “psych-metal”. As genre descriptions go, that’ll do nicely.
Quite how a mere three people can make such a transfixing and compelling noise is a thing of wonder and should be cherished. Confluence finds the good Captain Trip aka Jean Fossat frying our synapses with some incendiary fret-wrangling, hurling writhing tendrils of notes against the controlled bass pummelling of his brother Remi, and the wall of shuddering rhythm supplied Canek.
Communing with alien worlds, a conference and confluence of huge slabs of time rise slowly from within the Weavers’ Weft, and once again our master of drum defies all logic with the fact that he only has two arms and two feet, to lift the tune into another plane.
The Story That Has Never Been Told is future folk music given eerie and beautiful life by ethereal harmonies, leading to altered state whirling dervishes leaping and skipping at ever increasing speed around disembodied camp fires floating in space, and shows us spectators another side to the monster, with a glimpse into its dancing soul. Quite lovely!
Ilion is apparently the Ancient Greek word for Troy, and the album, according to the band is “constructed in the manner of a Homeric story”. Fine pretension there, chaps, and that’s only the beginning of the deliciously OTT PR blurb. Still, we proggies like a slice of pretence, do we not? 🙂 Never mind all that, try to get to see this band live, for that experience makes this fine and feral record seem quite tame in comparison!
TRACK LISTING
01. Ilion (11:08)
02. Nimh (9:38)
03. The Words That Have Never Been Heard (12:31)
04. Confluence (8:36)
05. Weavers’ Weft (9:41)
06. Uruk (9:54)
07. The Story That Has Never Been Told (12:34)
08. Enter The Loop (5:02)
Total Time – 79:04
MUSICIANS
Jean Fossat – Guitar
Remi Fossat – Bass
Canek Flores – Drums
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Sub Pop
Country of Origin: France
Date of Release: 19th January 2024