THE AWAKENING

ESTHESIS is this French progressive rock group born in 2013, in the pure vein of 70's dinosaurs namely PINK FLOYD, SUPERTRAMP and BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, AIRBAG, ANATHEMA or PORCUPINE TREE more recently, Gilmour, Glass and the atmospheres of DEAD CAN DANCE (film and ambient music, pop, metal). He would have the ability to perceive sensations as in the Genesis pieces hence his name! His mentor Aurélien GOUDE works more on latent and spleen emotion than on the search for fast notes and rhythms. He says he adored KING CRIMSON and Kate Bush in his youth which led him to switch to progressive rock. ESTHESIS is this French group which will remain one of the revelations of the year 2020; just before the actual pandemic.

"Downstream" starts off with a sound that has been heard and used a thousand times, a Floydian base from the 75-77 era, and certain progressive drifts; halfway through, it starts in a more nervous rhythm, hard limit before a more intimate return with crystal-clear piano and guitar, the voice passing from Gilmour to that of Wilson; the instrumental makes its place by keeping a majestic side and makes you forget time; a little VANGELIS notes, a repetitive tune with keyboard layers in the background, a guitar that comes out of the eternal solo, the atmosphere is there. "No Soul to Sell" starts from a reincarnation of the PORCUPINE TREE and for the voice and for the syncopated air; it is at the level of the synths that we see the difference with a sound here at the COMA ROSSI reviewed last year and a real gem; the guitar is surly enough to remind me also of KLONE bringing a musical frame and stretching it intelligently with plaintive, sensory, meditative piano and guitar; a break even recalls "The End" of THE DOORS, concentrated meditation, dreamlike until the nervous return, metal, explosive end.

"High Tide" and this intro that I love, note reverberation that makes my hair stand on end and that I imagine hearing live, a symphonic track mixing calm climate and rising notes in crescendo, where the piano remains the standard value ; a Gilmour-style solo merging with a SUPERTRAMP melody, that's what you might hear, a moment ... of great emotion; surely my favorite title which will allow you to perceive my tastes. "Chameleon" arrives for the most pop, the most accessible, the most binary title; a title that gives in the gypsy guitar during the keyboard break, which also shows that Aurélien is above all an outstanding keyboardist. The finale starts with a guitar-synth mix reminiscent of the "Animals" era.

"The Awakening" and the thunderstorm rumbles, a hang sound to heat the room, a mellow tune, not hypnotic but much like a mantra, just before the measured and contained explosion; then celestial voices and icy guitar, monotonous to follow this established climate, an intimate instrumental that does its job. "Still Far to Go" for the last title which takes me back to the dynamics dear to Wilson to instill a latent, meditative and beautiful atmosphere. Well, again, the beautiful part on the keyboard which is close to those of Banks of GENESIS or ELP or even MANFRED MANN, I warned you, we are in the great 70's revival here.

An album bringing an intimate, dreamlike universe where melody reigns supreme, with a note of melancholy just enough, prog-rock, art-rock as we can say to avoid assimilating this magical sound to a genre too complex, too intellectual, too rich to be broadcast on the radio. If you get hooked, you'll be eligible for an alternative bonus early next year. One thing is certain, it is still possible to feel emotion today with albums of this caliber, Aurélien has something to do with it.