Instant Holograms On Metal Film

This eleventh studio album from this Anglo-French avant-pop alternative band is their first new album in 15 years.

FCC: Clean
Recommended: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9

1. (0:55) Mystical Plosives – short album synth intro.
2. (3:20) Aerial Troubles – Starting out with beatless vocalizing, the rhythm section kicks in moving to more upbeat music with a darker message: “the numbing is not working anymore…we can’t eat our way out of it”. The tone eventually comes to a point of hope without really having the answers “the juncture invites us to provide care” and finishing with “That holds the prospect for greater wisdom”.
3. (7:37) Melodie is a Wound – a catchy and upbeat tune that moves into a more political message about the troubled state of the world, especially for those not powerful. The song transitions into a separate instrumental song about half-way through. This break is where the “edit” version on the B-side of the single stops. Included in this second half are synth drums accompanied by a keyboard jam and distorted electric guitarish sounds.
4. (6:25) Immortal Hands – soothing music that features play between jazzy drumming and synth piano keyboard. Halfway through, the time signature changes and we move into an instrumental with horns the rest of the way.
5. (4:37) Vermona F Transistor – An upbeat track, accompanied by flute.
6. (4:21) Le Coeur et La Force – With a french lyric of short phrases, Lætitia Sadier sings with clarity and purpose, accompanied by harmonizing backing vocals.
7. (4:16) Electrified Teeny Bop! – fast-paced synthesizer instrumental trip. Guitar chords and solos jump into the mix off and on throughout. Keyboard melody comes in and out as well.
8. (4:16) Transmuted Matter – smooth-jazz like start before the ethereal solo and backing vocals soon sing to us about heart, soul, riddles, and love. A plucking electric guitar and bass provide a backing foundation throughout.
9. (6:04) Esemplastic Creeping Eruption – “Exploration of inner world, the bountiful tap” are part of the lyric that touches on words of light and dark through the soundscape until about 2 minutes into the song. Then the tempo picks up a rock beat as a guitar and distinctive drums are added. The chorus is “It’s dark, it’s dark, I will abide, it’s dark” as if now the vocalist has surrendered to a harsher world. This gives way to a return to the slower and more soothing sound about a minute later with harmonizing vocals that will again switch back to guitar and “It’s dark”. The interplay works for a couple of rounds. The last 45 seconds of the song moves into a funkier bass and drum beat sound with background sound effects.
10. (3:41) If You Remember I Forgot How To Dream Pt. 1 – with some French language at the beginning and then off and on throughout, this is a fast and upbeat pop number, driven by prominent bass, guitar, and piano.
11. (5:35) Flashes From Everywhere – starting out like a slower ballad, the song picks up to reveal another upbeat track with flute, driving bass, and added drum and guitar fills. The song ends with a soft flute and melodic guitar interplay that fades out.
12. (5:33) Colour Television – has a reggae-like tempo with commentary on the television medium. The pace picks up in the middle but the same background remains throughout the song’s journey.
13. (2:56) If You Remember I Forgot How To Dream Pt. 2 – coming in for part 2, the song boasts a bolt synth beat and conveys an optimistic message with many words or phrases often devoid of sentences, like “without fear”, “power to choose courage”, “wisdom, faith, courage are necessary”, and “To heal”.