Konstanz

Description

On "Konstanz," Marquis's new album, we find Frank Darcel and Éric Morinière, both ex-Marquis de Sade, Niko Boyer, and Simon Mahieu, who embodies Marquis's voice on an album he co-wrote this time. Without denying its origins, the group explores new territories, accompanied by notable guests: former Voidoids Ivan Julian, Vernon Reid from Living Color, saxophonist Pierrick Pédron, and Jared Michael Nickerson, bassist for The The. This high-profile cast infuses a nervous refinement into tracks oscillating between shadow and light: The shadow is "Listen to the Big Bang," the story of a toxic relationship where Denis Bortek (Jad Wio) lends his unique voice; "Henry Lee Didn't Do It" and its evocation of a real fake serial killer; or "I Wasn't Born For Real" and "Pyramid," from which emanates that feeling, sometimes lasting beyond adolescence, of never truly belonging. The light is "In The Mood for Sun," which features the too-rare voice of Elli Medeiros, in a duet with Simon; "Immensité" de la jeunesse with its catchy chorus; and "Jour de Gloire," where the new no-future generation seeks reasons for hope in a bleak present. The album concludes in the glow of a new dawn, "Aux Premier Feux." A suspended and moving ballad, shrouded in mist, where absences linger. "A little bit of you remains, under the bridge of silence." Welcome to Konstanz.