Showing posts with label *Celeste. Show all posts
Showing posts with label *Celeste. Show all posts

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Celeste - 2010 Morte(s) Nee(s)


Band : Celeste
Album : Morte(s) Nee(s)
Release Year : 2010
Genre : Sludge | Screamo | Chaotic

Tracklist :
1. Ces belles de rêve aux verres embués
2. Les mains brisées comme leurs souvenirs
3. Il y a biens des porcs que ça ferait bander de t'étouffer
4. En troupeau des louves en trompe l'oeil des agneaux
5. (S)
6. Un miroir pur qui te rend misérable
7. De sorte que plus jamais un instant ne soit magique

Morte(s) Nee(s) continues in the tried-and-true-tradition of harsh, melancholic, and brooding. In 2010, Celeste reveals themselves to be more than simply a mirror of their French screamo counterparts Sed Non Satiata or Amanda Woodward. A tinge of black metal can certainly be felt here or there, yet Celeste are really a screamo band at heart- and they fully embrace that side on Morte(s) Nee(s). Heavy and dissonant, Celeste craft a distinct aesthetic that's sure to turn away many. The brooding atmosphere gets tiring, sure, but it never feels redundant or overused throughout the album’s 42-minutes.

Morte(s) Nee(s) spans from some more sparse sections, like “(S),” to the freakishly-full sections where the vocals explode from your listening device. The heavier aspects are much more concentrated. Whilst the fuzzy, over-saturated guitars wail on uncomfortably loud, unaccustomed ears are bound to shiver away in repulsion. Until the vocals are described, though, justice can’t be truly done in describing the sheer bleakness of Morte(s) Nee(s). Rather than using softer moments at times to accentuate the heavier parts, a tactic many screamo bands live by, Celeste refrains from any sort of let-up in intensity. Melody is ditched for dissonance, and those moments that would grant a softer reprieve are almost entirely brushed aside in favor of relentless screaming.

In effect, all of Morte(s) Nee(s) feels rather corrosive and dirty, as perfectly displayed by the raw fervor that the vocals thrive on. The pace isn’t what grants the intensity; Morte(s) Nee(s) is more mid-tempo than it is thrashing and flailing. This aspect itself adds to the calculatedly disgusting, almost sinister, overarching atmosphere of the album. Celeste may not blow you away with their technicality -- the instrumentation on Morte(s) Nee(s) feels a little underdeveloped, especially with respect to its percussion. On the other hand, Celeste are sure to send a shiver down your spine with the utter despair and emotion, like the feeling of drowning in a shallow, dirty puddle.





Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Celeste - 2010 Pessimiste(s) (Re Issue)


Band : Celeste
Album : Pessimiste(s) (Re Issue)
Release Year : 2010
Genre : Sludge / Screamo / Chaotic

Tracklist :
01. Afin de Tromper l'Ennui
02. Diluons nos Souvenirs d'Enfance
03. D'Abysse en Abysse
04. De Notre Aversion à Notre Perversion
05. Car Quoi Qu'il Advienne Tout est à Chier

Coming out of the long line of French screamo bands, Celeste formed out of ex-members of the defunct Mihai Edrisch. Their debut work is this single twelve-inch Ep, Pessimiste(s).
Celeste is definitely similar to fellow Euro screamo bands in the sense of their vocal delivery. Deep, and almost metallic, Johan's vocals almost seem unhuman at times-not in the machine like way, but in the heavily emotional sense. But instrumentally speaking, I find more similarity toward American screamo band Orchid, in the form of their simply played, but overall very dramatic guitar playing. Guillaume's playing, along with the tight drumming, easily transists from fast to slow paced tempos whenever needed. It seems to be a simple tool to fix their way around climaxes and crescendos, and with the simple addition of finger picking passages in the middle of a song, it offers just enough variation for five tracks.

The overall feel of the record is of a very deep recording. Everything feels just enough echoed to create such an eerie vibe, but without much help from the bass which is a bit of a disappointment. In fact it's hardly audible. The constant slow riff in Diluons Nos Souvenirs D'enfance, could easily be accompanied by a deep bass, but instead gives full responsibility to Guillaume's guitar playing. Following this mostly slow tempo song is the fast paced drumming of D'abysse En Abysse, the slightly higher pitched guitar work, and Johan's more frantic and higher pitched delivery. The tempo change between songs is extremely effective in giving the short record enough variation for comfort-something a lot of bands can't seem to pin down.

Celeste doesn’t seem to be expanding upon untouched territory on their debut record, that's for sure. But the amount of emotion that's presented in their performance, not to mention the overall tight (if sometimes boring) work that ties it all together, proves a solid foundation for progression.