Feu Follet – La Forêt Oubliée (Album – Blackjack Illuminist Records)
Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, electro-wave, psychedelic, experimental.
Format: Digital, CD, Cassette.
Background/Info: Alban Blaising active under the Feu Follet moniker released last year his debut album on Blackjack Illuminist Records. He now strikes back with a new album, which is also available as comic book format. The work indeed has something of a conceptual work based upon the story of a boy discovering a mysterious tombstone in an ancient forest.
Content: It’s hard to compare this album to the previous one. “Le Champ Des Morts” had something hesitant, like a musician in search of his sound. He in a way has found a sonic path at this album, which is pretty ambient/soundtrack driven while recovered with psychedelic parts, but still darker passages. I also noticed a few more sensitive elements.
+ + + : I like the concept of the album. There’s an interesting story behind, which inspired the artist to compose his music. You rapidly feel this soundtrack approach resulting in some elaborated songs with delicate sound treatments. The song “La Disparition” is a remarkable track illustrating this delicacy.
– – – : I know soundtrack-inspired music doesn’t need vocals and/or spoken samplings, but I sometimes get the feeling this is exactly what the album is missing. The work sounds more credible than the debut album, but I still get the impression the artist remains in search of his own style. This kind of production however needs to get accompanied with a visual content to reveal its real potential.
Conclusion: It’s hard to say of I prefer this new work instead of the debut work, but Feu Follet doesn’t impress me thus far.
Best songs: “La Disparition”, “L’Enfant”.
Rate: (6).
Artist: www.facebook.com/FeuFollet54
Label: www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist
About Feu Follet
Feu Follet is the solo project of French musician Alban Blaising, based in Nancy. The project’s debut album, “Le Champ Des Morts”, was released on Blackjack Illuminist Records in 2019, followed by “La Forêt Oubliée” in 2020. Blaising continued the story the following year with “Beneath the Earth”, released alongside a companion comic book and featuring guest vocals from Vlimmer, XTR HUMAN, Natacha Lubin, Pat Aubier and Isabelle.B Baumann.
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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.
