Alcest – Shelter (2014)

Fully coming out of their cocoon, today we have Alcest and “Shelter”. In this album we have Alcest dropping their last remaining Metal influences and swiftly delivering a Shoegaze/Post-Rock charged Dream pop release that will haunt you from beginning to end. Listing Birgir Jón Birgisson as a producer/mixer, from Sigur Rós fame, the band takes their dreamy sound to a whole new level of awesomeness.

With the band shedding their Black Metal feathers over the years, “Shelter” marks their biggest jump by not having any hard vocals or extremely heavy guitar parts. However, the atmospheric brilliance of the band is untouched and further explored within the eight tracks presented in this release. The journey begins with the atmospheric intro “Wings”, featuring some dreamy vocals that quickly build up the listener’s expectations. As this song blends into “Opale”, Niege leads the way with some awesomely crafted guitars and his signature clean vocals.

Having a very uplifting vibe, “Opale” is just the tip of the iceberg, and one hell of a catchy and dreamy song that you will have trouble getting out of your head. The journey continues with the mellow “La nuit marche avec moi” filled with little intoxicating details and excellent Shoegazing passages. Neige handles all the traditional instruments (except the drums) in this release, and he has recruited several Icelandic guest musicians to expand the band’s sound with violins, a viola and a cello. He also has the help of Swedish singer Billie Lindahl, and Brit Neil Halstead on some vocals.

The most disarming track of this whole release is the outstanding “Voix Sereines”. We have probably listened to this song over 100 times and every time we hear it we enjoy it even more. The song is quite relaxing and very ethereal in nature with very dramatic vocals. We love how the track builds up and pushes your emotional boundaries with every note, probably the best Alcest song of all time. The album tempo picks up a bit with “L'eveil des muses”, a track that evokes passages of Post-Rock greats Tides of Nebula mixed with elements of Mogwai and God Is An Astronaut.

On the album title track, “Shelter”, we have more hypnotic atmospheric elements filled with excellently layered guitars and masterfully crafted vocal melodies. The drumming is quite elaborate, and while not as fast as in the band’s previous release, it is quite precise and expertly crafted. Differing a bit from the highly atmospheric pieces, “Away” features Neil Halstead’s vocals and gives the song a certain folk/indie rock vibe with acoustic guitars and cello arrangements.

Closing the album we have another signature Alcest track with “Délivrance”. In this song you can hear some of the band’s more familiar structures with an even more ethereal and expansive sound thanks to the amazing production behind this release. Lasting over 10 minutes, this song is a very apt closer for such an intoxicating release. As a whole, “Shelter” is one hell of an album that marks the band’s musical evolution into uncharted territories (for most ex-Metal bands). If you liked their previous releases because of the atmospheric and shoegaze components, you will love this album. However, if you are expecting harsh vocals and blast-beats, you won’t find them here, but maybe the band’s expansive sound will still pull you over to their current musical vision.

Label: Prophecy Productions

Release: January 17th, 2013

Genre: Shoegaze / Post-Rock / Dream pop

Country: France