Thin Walls

Description

You could be told that this is their third album. That Rats, their previous album, sold almost 15,000 copies in France. That according to Songkick, they are among the most toured artists in recent years. That they sold out La Cigale and Le Trianon and will undoubtedly do the same with Le Bataclan. That they will complete a clean sweep of France Inter shows in April. We'd rather tell you that BALTHAZAR has a unique ability to win everyone over. Anyone who has had the chance to see this band live has come away shaken, astonished, conquered, ...bewitched. They ended up raising their glass to "Blood Like Wine" – you too, one day, will understand – wondering how they could have missed these five. Afterward, they rushed home to endlessly re-listen to their pop melodies. It's a fact, listening to BALTHAZAR means falling in love with their music, a mix of Arctic Monkeys-esque pop and more tormented, melancholic compositions. So, as you might guess, we've been impatiently waiting for this album. To say we were stressed at the idea of finally being able to hear the first track, our hearts pounding as we pressed the "Play" button, would be an understatement. But it was then, as often happens, that the magic worked. With Thin Walls, the band's songwriting duo, Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez, managed to remain faithful to the spirit of Rats and Applause, while infusing new strength into their compositions, a quietly wild momentum. Thin Walls is undoubtedly the most instinctive and, ultimately, intimate production from this band with two creative minds. After producing Applause and Rats themselves, the band this time traveled across the United Kingdom to work with Ben Hillier, producer for Blur, Depeche Mode, and Elbow, and with Jason Cox (Gorillaz, Massive Attack) at Yellow Fish Studios in Lewes. The result is a brilliant and contrasting album, with delicate melodies, soaring pop flights, powerful rock impacts, and the feeling of being in the presence of a truly great record. More than just a mature album, Thin Walls is certainly the album the general public was waiting for to discover and embrace BALTHAZAR.