Indie / Garage Rock
RIYL: Dum Dum Girls, Chastity Belt, Lake Michigan
Indie rock goes through ebbs and flows, between the sweet tinges of pop to the dark ambient moods we’ve heard from shoegaze indie pioneers of the past. France’s quintet Belmont Witch slides rather nicely into the middle, providing their self-titled EP today on New Music Faster.
Commencing with the upbeat “Send Lines,” the track immerses the listener into a melodic, garage pop-rock akin to The Go-Gos, Blondie and the Pretenders, and as the EP continues, it never lets off the catchy, indie pop gas pedal. “Niños En La Playa” is a driving, vibrant mix of jangly guitars, paired nicely with pounding drums. Lead vocalist Michèle Albertini employs a confident, dreamy voice throughout, and they are heard best on tracks “Sin Hablar” and EP closer “Sois à Nouveau.”
Albertini’s voice is playful, yet commanding, and it works better in this context than most of the other genre stalwarts currently active. That said, her voice isn’t completely in the front of the mix, which bodes well for the rest of the band comprised of Charlène Darling on drums and backing vocals, Raquel Garcia on bass, Jérome Ganivet on synths, guitars, & backing vocals, and Thomas Carpentier on violin. When mapped together, the group make some splendid tunes all captured by Jérome Ganivet and mastered by Nicolas Pommé & Guillaume Siracusa of Gravity Music.
Belmont Witch six tracks clock in at just under 20 minutes, and half of those don’t surpass the three and a half minute mark. Belmont Witch have hedged their bets on instant gratifications, creating songs that go somewhere fast, and, for the most part those places are tuneful and exuberant. Conversely, since the EP is short, it’s over in a hurry, leaving you wanting more – which is all you can hope for from an up and coming band.
The EP proves that Belmont Witch have more up their sleeves, and with some time, we’ll start to see a sonic evolution that will be fantastic to watch, and see. Brilliant.
