When a band appear who rival Tool in the presentation stakes you can only hope that the content is as interesting as the packaging. Here, the French act I. The Phoenix have clothed their album in eye-popping (literally) 3d art (the digi-pack comes with a free pair of 3d specs) that stands proudly head to head with Tool’s sublime 10,000 days packaging and which marks only the introduction to ITP’s multi-layered and subtle musical world.
Unhelpfully ITP are being touted as a NIN-style band by their press representatives, but while they may dip into industrial soundscapes from time to time, the palette that ITP work from is vastly different to that of Trent and co echoing more closely the introspective angst of Depeche Mode, the yearning melancholy of Ulver and the sweeping, epic style of VAST, although in truth comparisons with any band are only ever going to act as a guide when it comes to the inventive and imaginative work of this French duo.
Opening with the John-Carpenter-meets-David-Gilmour stutter of ‘enter the storm’, wonderfully languid guitar sits atop a distorted and skeletal beat to create an atmospheric opening before Jean-Paul Frenay’s vocals (part Dave Gahan, part Michael Gira) lend the whole thing a gently gothic feel that suggests that ITP will be lapped up by the black-clad masses as eagerly as it will be by more adventurous pop and metal fans. That is not to say that ITP’s work is watered down – by no means; rather that this has genuine cross-genre appeal thanks to its intelligent composition and dark-hearted, yet accessible nature. Offering a slightly more guitar-based approach than its forebear, ‘108 seconds before the crash’ is an exercise in tension building that recalls elements of The Resonance Association and Depeche Mode at their darkest, while crashing drums and slightly distorted vocals provide the sort of chorus that inserts itself into your brain even while it rings out the sound of despair.
A change of tack leads us to the whimsical synth opening of ‘Idiopathic’ which retains that DM feel whilst also recalling Massive attack and VAST thanks to the myriad elements that swirl through the mix, all underpinned by the drawling and excellent vocals. Guitars are in evidence, as they are throughout the album, but twisted and compressed so that they are precise and robotic rather than allowed to run roughshod across the rest of the track and you can only marvel at the level of control that has been exercised to keep the songs in check. Certainly ‘Idiopathic’ benefits from this controlled approach with each stab of guitar providing a hint of light amongst the endless shade while the synths seem to flow ever down towards some hidden vortex at the heart of the track before the whole thing finally explodes into life, tired of being kept straining at the leash, and the audience are allowed some sort of release. In keeping with this new found urge to release the pent-up rage that grew up over the first few tracks, ‘alpha me’ charges where the earlier tracks crept and huge swathes of guitar tear through overloaded synths and pounding drums to create a dance-floor-filling anthem of terrifying potential.
Veering away from becoming in any way generic, ITP change tack with ‘another sudden fall’ which is the musical equivalent of taking a hit of Ketamine mid-album as trip-hop drums and piano back up a Mike Patton-style vocal giving the whole thing a Peeping Tom feel that is at odds with, and yet complimentary to, the raging slabs of twisted industrial/pop/metal/darkwave that surround it, although a massively distorted ending tries its best to fry the synapses and bring you back to life in time for the magnificently dark ‘The great escape’ which once again recalls the most recent Depeche Mode album to an extent that renders it marginally less powerful than the other tracks found on this largely unique record. Such dark pop doesn’t prepare you, however, for the skittering, nervous ‘the infected’ which features tightly coiled guitars spread over syncopated rhythms and a vocal that is smothered in a layer of distortion all of which makes the track reek of fear and bad-trip hallucinations. It is a great track, one of the best on the album, and it highlights the vast potential of this French act. ‘Synthetic flavours’ resets the balance with a heavy riff and NIN-plays-the-Cure feel that will undoubtedly move bodies at a live performance and eases the almost unbearably tense feeling of claustrophobia that pervades the rest of the album. ‘Blackhill’ marks a last blast of chilly atmospherics, all slowed down beats and heart-felt vocals before ‘unseen&gone’ rounds out this excellent album with a last, adrenalin fuelled charge over ITP’s electronic pastures.
Overall ITP have crafted an album of dark, industrial flavoured music that will appeal across the board to fans of Depeche Mode, Gary Numan (particularly his marvellous ‘Pure’ record) and even David Bowie’s ‘Outside’ album but which has many elements of its own to offer. Like the very best musical magpies out there, what ITP have done is to take the very best elements of their favourite acts and worked them up to give them a unique and exciting flavour that is exclusively their own whilst maintain enough of a resemblance to the source to appeal to a wide audience. Everything about this release has been thought about and planned with a military precision, from the run time (ruthlessly pared down so that not a note is wasted) and the packaging (astounding is the only word for it) to the excellent production. Contemporary, exciting and memorable, ITP are a worthy band from whom we expect great things in the future – check them out now and say you discovered them before your mates, you won’t regret it.
I, the phoenix // stereoscopic trailer from I, the phoenix on Vimeo.
