My experience with Amesoeurs has been memorable. I found myself enjoying the Amesoeurs material just as much as I do the Alcest material, which is quite some feat. I know making comparisons is futile because they are both very different bands and unique in their own ways, but because Neige is a member of both bands, I cannot help but mention Alcest when I’m reviewing Amesoeurs material, and vice versa. My experience with the French act Valfunde is limited, and to this split no less. I’ve never heard of them before I picked up this. I was excited to hear what the band were all about simply due to the very fact that they were collaborating with Amesoeurs, a band I am beginning to fall in love with.
So, we begin with two Valfunde tracks. The first, ‘Hospital’ is disappointing. There are no vocals, it’s completely instrumental. I wasn’t expecting that. It appears to be some sort of introduction to the main song, ‘"Serenade" De Verlaine’ but it’s presence is completely unnecessary. This wasn’t the best start. I found myself carrying my disappointment over on to the second track because of the sheer stupidity of the first. It was a ‘nothing’ track, as I like to call them. Songs that exist just for the sake of it. The content of the first song is simplistic. A lone guitar, quietly strumming along before the introduction of a higher pitched riff, which seemed completely out of place to me. It, at certain points, sounded like a dying whale. From there onwards the song didn’t stop spiraling downwards into the abyss of ‘shitness’. The odd main riff, accompanied by what sounds like a bongo and then the strange hissing vocals in the back make this one of the most forgettable songs in the history of music.
The second song was much stronger. However, as I said, my disappointment was brought over from one track to another. Although vocals play a much bigger role on this song, they aren’t that strong. They are decipherable, which struck me as odd. Considering I can only understand a small amount of French, the lyrics and vocals were useless to me at this point. There also seems to be an inclusion of female vocals, although they are very quiet and largely overshadowed by the male vocalist, who enjoys spewing his voice over everything. This, in a sense, nullifies whatever the female vocals are meant to contribute to the song. They may not even be female vocals! They could simply be this dude singing in a clean voice. The content is more impressive than that on the first track, but let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be hard to do better than that. The lead guitar does create some sweet sounding riffs, but they aren’t good enough to hold the attention for long periods.
On to the highlight of the split, the Amesoeurs song. I hate the fact that I will have to rate this split down due to the Valfunde side because the Amesoeurs song, ‘Les Ruches Malades’ is actually very good. Perhaps my favourite Amesoeurs song, in actual fact. The vocals are the most impressive inclusion in the song. The male vocals have been completely abandoned for the female vocals on this song, rather like the last song on the first EP. The vocals are strong, very strong. Beautiful, emotive and they fill me with nostalgia, a feeling I rather like. The soft approach by Amesoeurs compliments the vocals excellently. The bass is prominent on the song and applies a fair amount of melody to the proceedings. Alongside the lead guitar, the bass is well placed in the song. Thanks to the clear production, the instrumental side to Amesoeurs sounds polished and professional. Both instruments allow the vocals to take hold of the song and play a significant role in bringing the melody to the foreground. The beauty of the song is astounding. It stands out proudly for the entire song, which pleased me greatly. There is no room for mistakes due to the wonderful musicianship of the band. This track is the only one worth hearing from the split, which is rather unfortunate.
France
