Factice Factory – Figments (Album – Holy Hour Records)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave, Cold-Wave.
Format: Digital, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Swiss-French trio Factice Factory are back with their new work featuring seven songs. Driven by Théotime Lefebvre and his father Fabrice (known from Rajna) plus Swiss singer François Ducarn, the fourth album of the formation refers ‘to an inner certainty and feeling that we believe to be real but that in fact is only the fruit of our own imagination’. A few guest musicians contributed to this album as well.
Content: The album takes off with its darkest cut, which is pure and somewhat tormented Cold-Wave. The vocals are somewhat half spoken like. Quite progressively the songs are getting ‘softer’, but still more into melancholia. Sometimes reminding me of The Cure –but darker, you also will discover dreamy passages. There also is a more Psychedelic passage while the last song, which is the longest one, sounds as an imaginary offspring between Suicide and Jesus & The Mary Chain.
+ + + : “Boiled” is a brilliant opener, but still a true scary, tormented song. It however sounds as this kind of music has to sound. Factice Factory embraces darkness, which clearly is very inspiring for the band and still inciting them to experiment with somewhat Psychedelic elements –especially both last cuts. The last song “Mojave (Part I-II-III)” has been meticulously elaborated revealing a mix of influences, but still showing the potential of the band. I also salute the contribution (once more) of Rajna singer, Jeanne Lefebvre, on one of the songs.
– – – : The album is alternating great, alluring songs and a few less inspired cuts. I especially recommend the exceptional debut song and both last cuts.
Conclusion: I’m still convinced this band clearly deserves a wider recognition; there’re some amazing songs featured at this work.
Best songs: “Boiled”, “Tucson”, “Mojave (Part I-II-III)”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/facticefactory
Label: www.holyhourrecords.com / www.facebook.com/HolyHourRecords
About Factice Factory
Factice Factory is a French and Swiss band whose Discogs profile places its reference points in the cold wave, minimal wave and post-punk of the early 1980s. The line-up is François Ducarn, also of Chroma Carbon, on lyrics and vocals, Théotime Lefebvre on bass guitar, electric guitar and effects, and Fabrice Lefebvre on drum programming, keyboards and arrangements.
The recorded chronology starts with the self-released “Rework” in 2015 and the “Cherry Picker” 7-inch on Holy Hour Records in 2017, followed by the double 12-inch “Wie Raben” on minimood in 2019. Side-Line covered the band earlier with Factice Factory – Nada (CD Album – Factice Records) and Factice Factory – Lines & Parallels (CD Album – Wool-E Discs).
“Figments”, the fourth album, was released on 15 May 2021 by Holy Hour Records and was partly recorded during 2020 and 2021. It holds seven tracks: “Boiled”, “Dye Fading”, “Cent Dix Huit”, “Weimar”, “Distance”, “Tucson” and “Mojave (Part I-II-III)”. Alexandre Garandel added bass guitar on “Dye Fading” and overdrive guitar on “Distance”, and Jeanne Lefebvre sang on “Distance”. All tracks were composed by the band except “Dye Fading”, credited to Factice Factory and Garandel.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
