EP Review: L'appel Du Vide - Abwärtsspirale (2022)
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| Picture Credit: L'appel Du Vide |
L'appel Du Vide - Abwärtsspirale
Release Date: May 27, 2022
Label: It's Eleven Records
Format: Vinyl/Digital
Duration: 13:15
Genre: Dark Punk / Post Punk
Origin: Chemnitz, Germany
For more than two years, L'appel Du Vide from Saxon town Chemnitz have invested blood, sweat and tears in the production and finalization of their debut EP "Abwärtsspirale". Before, they have presented their dark sound on their four-track demo in early 2020.
Speaking darkness, this is the major and omnipresent element here. This begins with the band's name L'appel Du Vide (French: The Call of the Void) and the release's title "Abwärtsspirale" (German: "Downard Spiral"). Together with the cover artwork showing people walking down a staircase and sort-of referring to the famous drawing "House of Stairs" by M.C. Escher, it becomes obvious that depression, numbness, and paralyzed states of mental illness play an important role in the soundscapes.
And thus, the artistic environment is the perfect playground for L'appel Du Vide's Depropunk - a Punk Rock and Post Punk subgenre that was predominantly famous in the two German states in the 1980s.
The EP begins with the dynamic banger 'Das bin nicht ich' ('That is not me' or 'That is not the way I am'). A heavily rolling Garage and Surf Rock motif plunges over an ice cold New Wave foundation as the nameless protagonist of the song has gotten lost in a nameless town, in an unowned house, in a locked and empty room. L'appel Du Vide do not hesitate to directly open the vortex to the void and enchant their listeners with this thrilling Razzia- or EA80-like hymn.
Second track 'Delirium' dives deeper into the vast emptiness of Post Punk and New Wave. On energetic rhythms, the quartet provides this paralyzing song about escapism, suppression, and cynicism. The song's final line marks the moment of realization: "Fast hätten wir geglaubt, es könnte gut ausgehen" ("We almost believed that this could go well"). Here, a stoic bass line undeterredly marches towards the darkest spot of an endless tunnel, alongside sparkling glitches and rubble. With this impressive Chaos Z-meets-Joy Division hymn, the A-Side ends.
Once the needle has kissed the backside of the vinyl, L'appel Du Vide continue with even more intensity driving towards the void. The next track is called 'Aufmerksamkeit' ('Attention') and it concerns another side effect of mental illness: toxic relationships. The narrative of the nameless protagonist continues as they are dragged into the arms of a lover or somebody who lets them feel alive by showing some attention. The protagonist has mostly given up on themselves, but as long as their significant other still shows them some attention, the will to live remains.With its massive bass line and with the repeated line "Hauptsache ist.." ("most important is..."), this reminds of one of the most important German Punk Rock bands of all time: Neurotic Arseholes.
On the final track 'Das Programm' the attention is focused on the realms of algorithms, monitoring, and the value of privacy in a world dominated by tech giants and web 2.0.
Together with guest vocalist Mara, a thrilling Post- and Dark Punk soundscape is being created which also marks the sonic vortex' final station. Has the journey through darkness lead to a wall, to the void, or just to another gigantic room? One cannot tell for sure, but flipping that vinyl record over to the A-Side again is definitely a good idea.
L'appel Du Vide's first EP "Abwärtsspirale" is not only an impressive 1980s Depropunk revival, it is an autochthonous reinterpretation of the genre, adapted to our current world. It is furthermore an extremely dark release that contains the potential to be salutogenetic and a source of hope.
L'appel Du Vide Online:
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bandcamp
Spotify
Music from this release has been added to the following dynamic playlists:
MangoRotation
The Mango 100: Garage / Surf
The Mango 100: Post Punk / New Wave
The Mango 100: Punk / Hardcore
Sound of Germany: The Mango 100
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