Bouncing, raucous indie-dance kicks off this debut album from French quartet, an attention grabbing and exuberant opener Shallow Goals mixes the jangling, spiky guitars with a pounding dancefloor beat and effects-heavy vocals in a Soulwax-like cocktail. Similarly Blended Colors has a racing pace, Arnaud Kermarrec-Tortorici’s vocal is frenzied, similar to Ben Gibbard in The Postal Service-mode, it comes to a pleasingly momentous conclusion.
However, when Dead End starts a little tempo-fatigue sets in, with the band seemingly operating at only one consistent speed there’s a need for a little variety, and with the first three tracks competent but comparable one may find oneself a little restless. Fortunately that change does come with Party People, a spindly guitar line tip-toeing around, and giving the track some much needed theatricality before it slumps into the usual tropes.
Welcome is an appealing collage of strange squeaky sounds in amongst sombre guitar lines, a gentle waltz-like pace and peculiar electronic blips and fizzes bubbling around your ears. It’s a shame this soundscape isn’t developed, or its invention isn’t at least incorporated into what follows, for while Empty Page is an atmospheric and pensive tune with cautious guitars and echoing vocals, it is all a tease for an ‘epic’ collapse into hammered drums and hollered vocals, that feels anti-climatic where it should feel exhilirating.
Anthony-Mehdi Affari’s drums lend an appealing swagger to Red Cat Blackout whilst Arnaud’s yelps of ‘Kill the grass, kill the trees! Kill the birds, kill the bees!’ have a certain anarchic charm, it stills fits snugly into the established template, but at least has a few memorable flourishes. It’s followed by the daffy The “And If” Girl which weirdly reminds me of a song from the movie Earth Girls Are Easy (starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and Jim Carrey) with its list of make-up items barked at the out-set, the track itself has a more Blondie-like feel, a little more nostalgic than other tracks on this record.
Penny For Belief is a ball of energy, but loses its lustre, seeming like perhaps a superb live tune that has descended into organised chaos in translation to this album. Dear Brittle Lights fares better, Xavier Guillaumin’s bass nestling nicely against Damien Bascoulard and Arnaud’s guitars, the instrumental sections having a The Futureheads-vibe whilst Arnaud’s vocals feels like Robert Smith on a fun fair waltzer.
Alas the final track Pills recalls so much of what’s gone before that it can’t help but send the LP out on a bit of a downer. Mnemotechnic could be a thrilling band to see live, they’re lively, energetic and play well, but it’s sometimes hard to translate the exuberance of a live band onto record and this LP isn’t wholly successful, a few moments shine here and there but for the most part the album dulls the senses rather than stimulates them.
[Rating:2]
