Album Review: Balladur - La Vallée Étroite (2019)
Villeurbanne-based Noise Pop duo Balladur recently released their fourth album "La Vallée Étroite". The title meaning "narrow valley" is a grateful dedication to all supporters, bookers, fans, venues, hotels and so on who accompanied Balladur during the last years.
The album begins with a horrifying scream and a horror sample leading into the first track 'Kuda Lumping'. Each song seems to be an hommage to certain people and places the band wants to address. The final song 'Dans la 205' could refer to a hotel room. The place I work at has a room number 205. I am confused.
The songs on "La Vallée Étroite" are colourfully psychedelic, glitchy and shoegazy Noise Pop. Post-Punk themes lead into 80s style Electronica, and minimalist motifs patterns echo and swirl around themselves. The album feels like a long hot summer day at a white beach amongst palm trees, a ghetto blaster, some bottles of rum, ... and maybe LSD.
Between modules, samples, guitar riffs, a ton of effects, glitch noises and jitterily dynamic lyrics Balladur have created an amazing piece of electronic psychedelia. The melange of dark Noise and Post-Punk with bright Dub and colourful loops makes "La Vallée Étroite" so impressive
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