Seizing control of a colourful myriad
of musical influences from Seventies rollercoaster jazz-funk arrangements
to the crunching riffage of heavy-metals leviathans, multi-national
three-piece Passe Montagne use the all-to-brief 21 minutes to
carve out a rocking, no-holds barred tapestry of jagged and multi-layered
math-rock for their sophomore release. Passe Montagne are made
up of ex-Chevreuil drummer Julien Fernandez and guitarists Samuel
Cochetel and Gilles Montaufray, three individuals who left their
respective homes, jobs and families in France, Columbia and Italy
to meet up in a studio at the end of 2008 with a single minded
determination to produce a follow up to their well received debut
album ‘Long Play’.
Moving away from the straight-edged math-rock
approach of their debut, ‘Oh My Satan’ sounds like
a metallic car-crash of instruments held together by a deranged
ideological glue of early 70’s experimentalists. They manage
to whip up a frenzy by tightly intertwining (out of) tuneful rock-guitar
melodies in amidst the stormy carnage of fried guitar-skree and
choppy drums. By constantly varying their tempos and suddenly
stripping down to dual or singular layers before launching back
with a triple-layer assault, they formulate a miniaturized sense
of epicness which keeps proceedings varied and dynamic; although
inevitably the sounds and songs bleed into one pretty consistent
entity. Refreshingly, the on-point and strategized timing of their
aggressive bursts exudes a visceral energy that sucks listeners
into their engaging whirlwind of sound. Opener ‘Jupiter’
is a riff-tastic statement of intent that brims with a militaristic
aura thanks to its progressive yet highly serrated structure whilst
tracks like ‘Lowcome Deluxe’ and the frazzled rock’n’roll
of ’Positive Manouche’ provide totally satisfying
crunchfest’s dedicated to all purveyors of the art known
as headbanging. Its not all truncated mega-riffs though as pieces
like ‘Tractor Operator’ proves, delving satisfyingly
into the twisted psyche of Hella’s trademark 8bit electro-mechanical
madness.
Ploughing through 12 fast and furious movements
with consummate ease, the trio showcase their pedigree by bashing
out some really endearing out-of-tune, out-of-sync and heavily
angular melodies that splatter against frenzied and shuffling
percussives to create a charged slice of inside-out instrumental
rock. The chop-heavy Chevreuil influences shine through but as
mentioned there is more at play here for the inquisitive listener
and as such, old and new fans alike will be rewarded for putting
their trust in ‘Oh My Satan’. (KS)
For
fans of: Don Cab, Oxes, Hella, Chevreuil
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