The Secret French Postcards – Life Got Claws (Album – Cold Transmission Music)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave, Post-Punk.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Fourth official album by Swedish formation The Secret French Postcards. The work was released by the end of 2022 and deals with troubles perturbing our daily life.
Content: The work brings us back to 80s Dark-Wave / Post-Punk influences which might remind bands like The Cure and early The Mission. The songs have been recovered by dark, melancholic, moods accentuated by deep bass lines, guitar and synth play. The band’s inspirator, Olli Ohlander, sings with a deep, timbre of voice creating a perfect match with the sound of the work.
+ + + : I like this melancholic side which is never boring but accentuated by harder, powerful passages. The guitar play and bass lines bring this plaintive impression alive. The work features a few irresistible cuts like “Strain”, “Complete Confusion” and “Go away” but I also have to mention “Sides” which is also driven by Shoegaze elements.
– – – : The work is featuring 10 songs and only the very last cut (cf. “A Searching Kiss”) is the single piece which can’t totally convince me and serves as a minus end.
Conclusion: If you’re into 80s Dark-Wave nostalgia “Life Got Claws” definitely is a work to discover.
Best songs: “Sides”, “Strain”, “Complete Confusion”, “Go away”, “Parasite”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/mukosound
Label: www.coldtransmission.com / www.facebook.com/coldtransmissionmusic
About The Secret French Postcards
The Secret French Postcards is a Swedish band founded in 2016 by Olli Ohlander, who returned to music after a decade-long break. The band’s name comes from a set of Art Deco-style photographs Ohlander found at an online auction, titled “Secret French Postcards” and depicting two brothers whose work and fate caught his attention. “Life Got Claws” is the band’s fourth full-length album, released in late 2022 via Cold Transmission Music.
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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.
