Fleche - New Sun
French indie-rock outfit Fleche, translated “arrow,” recently released the second single/lyric video, “New Sun,” from their forthcoming album, Do Not Return Fire, slated to drop May 3.
Fleche
On Germany’s Krod Records, with whom Fleche just signed, “New Sun” follows the album’s first single, “Gold and Black,” and precedes the third single, “Long Before,” which releases March 15.
The band is made up of Mickaël M., Nicolas R., Michael S., and Loïc S. No word on who plays which instrument, but apparently there are the standard two guitars (lead and rhythm), bass guitar, and drums. Billed by the all-encompassing term “indie rock,” the band’s sound blends alt-rock, post-punk, a bit of new wave, shoegaze, and ‘90s emo into music slightly reminiscent of The Foo Fighters, but just different enough to make it interesting and non-derivative.
Previous offerings by Fleche include an EP, called Hey! Light up the canyon parade, and their debut LP, Homes & Galaxies, which dropped in 2016.
Frankly, I’m not sure what the lyrics portend, but they work because they add certain sonic rhymes and pertinent phrases, like “You’re gonna take control.”
“New Sun” opens on shimmering guitars forming a jangly wall-of-sound and then flows into a post-punk-flavored new wave melody with gleaming guitar accents atop a fragile-feeling rhythm ramping up to muscular levels on the chorus.
A reverb-heavy, crying guitar fills the solo with dark, ferocious colors, as the harmonics swirl around. The vocals are cool, kind of tight and emo-affected, like Robert Smith jacked up on hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The video, even though technically it’s a lyric video, is still cool. It’s full of phantasmagoric explosions of color and a figure sinking into either water or the gooey essence of the cosmos, one or the other. The initial overhead shot is awesome, looking down on a figure tromping through a snow-covered landscape.
Frankly, I’m not sure what the lyrics portend, but they work because they add certain sonic rhymes and pertinent phrases, like “You’re gonna take control.”
Actually, I enjoyed this track a lot, probably because of its harmonic flow and the rise and fall of resonant degrees. Go, Fleche! Be sure to check out the album when it drops.
