Move In Spectrums is Au Revoir Simone’s fourth album, and their first
release in over fours years. The girls have followed a variety of
personal paths during the group’s hiatus, including finishing biology
degrees, solo albums and various exciting musical collaborations. They
have also spent time developing a new collection of vintage keyboards in
preparation for their work on this highly anticipated new record.
The new release follows on from the critical and commercial
success that was Still Night, Still Light, and indeed, Move In
Spectrums does feel like a natural follow-up to that previous body of
work. It is perhaps closest in feel, approach and instrumentation to
2009’s work than any of the trio’s other albums, although it must be
said that the classic Au Revoir Simone vibe is apparent from track one.
There is however a fair degree of music progression and
experimentation on the new record, with the girls trying out some new
timbres, as well as revisiting some Au Revoir Simone classics. These
ladies love a saw-tooth wave and faux-accordion sounds, but they have
also thrown exciting new instruments into the mix, adding intrigue with
phasers, eerie pads and fat synth bass lines. Boiling Point in particular exhibits these exciting experimentations nicely, rich as it is with swirls of dark, pressurised synth.
Like previous works, this album is filled with tales of
love and loss, personal self-exploration, metaphors and natural themes.
These are expressed through the same vocal style the girls are famous
for – clipped, crisp enunciation that is steady and measured, lifting to
ethereal chorus vocals comprising of three collected harmonies in
complete synchronisation. Each track on Move In Spectrumsalso maintains
subtly catchy vocal hooks, which fill choruses and heads for days.
This classic Au Revoir Simone vocal style, combined with
the girl’s dreamiest of dream-pop music create an auditory tapestry of
perfect femininity – beautiful, soft, other-worldly yet earthly and
organic. The girls themselves of course represent this, but what is most
interesting is that the music is the best representation of this ideal
offering a complete and pure representation of that type of feminine.
This new release is a strong album – all the tracks are
interesting, dynamic and enjoyable. Some tracks are more instrument
heavy than others, offering washes of sonic colour, and the single
tracks Crazy and Somebody Who are perhaps the most
commercial on the album, but these differences are nuanced and subtle.
Essentially, through this album these girls have once again proven
themselves consummate, consistent performers and creators, and this is
another fine body of work to enjoy.
See this at MTTM at: http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/au-revoir-simone-move-spectrums/
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