PARMI LES ARBRES

Much of the non-metal featured on this site has its roots planted firmly in the years of 1971-73. That fact is neither inherently good nor inherently bad, but it does lead to the prevalence of certain tropes and trends. Perséide's roots extend a few years further back. Instead of harkening to prog giants like Genesis or Yes, their music stems most obviously from late '60s psychedelia and proto-prog, a la The Pretty Things or The United States of America.

This Quebecois quintet is not wrapped entirely in the past, though. On Parmi les arbres (Among the Trees), modern touches of indie rock are present. These influences make the music feel like a vibrant descendent of '60s psychedelia, rather than a rehash.

"Hier ne saura jamais" ("Yesterday will never know") opens with a simple but lively guitar line, backed with astral keyboard tones. This song, like much of this album, is brimming with space-age synth tones and lush Mellotron. "Istanbul", meanwhile, is rooted in a vaguely Asiatic riff and a somewhat sparser arrangement.

A more openly poppy angle is taken on "Enracinés" ("Rooted"). The rhythm is bouncy, and the twin melody of the guitar and the organ are reminiscent of some of Pink Floyd's earliest releases, like "Arnold Layne" or "See Emily Play".

However, most of the tracks on this first half of the album possess detectable weaknesses. Most of the songs are about a minute too long, and "Le tombeaux d'Atuan" ("The Tombs of Atuan") never really manages to get going and borders on being soporific.

The album's second half is noticeably stronger than its first. "La nuit des faunes" ("The Night of the Fauns") has a slow-moving first half that gives way to a fun, energetic extended instrumental period. Guitar and organ prance around in a nearly-folky melody before evolving into a Yes-like series of guitar exercises. "Contreplongée" is a gentle, acoustic piece which only serves to strengthen comparisons to early Pink Floyd. It's a bit longer than it needs to be, but its placement on the album makes sense.

Parmi les arbres closes on its epic title track. The opening is slow and moody, built upon simple guitar strumming and light percussion. Mellotron flutes eventually are given a brief moment in the spotlight, adding to the dark folk character of this song's first part. The second half is mostly instrumental and centered around an extended synthesizer solo. In a somewhat rare occurrence, the pitch bend knob is used a great deal, twisting notes in ways usually reserved for guitar solos. This gives way to the song's finale: a menacing synth line is repeated over a dark, driving rhythm which eventually resolves with a brief return to the song's folky opening theme.

Perséide's second full-length album, particularly its second half, is a shining example of how sounds from decades past can be married with modern trends and sensibilities to yield impressive music. Not only do they draw from late '60s psych and modern indie rock, but they also channel the unique sounds of Francophone prog, such as fellow Quebeckers Vos Voisins and the French act Ange.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/12/08/album-review-perseide-parmi-les-arbres/