Out Of Left Field Right Here Dept. - Akphaezya

In my relentless search for contemporary music I might want to listen to more than once (which excludes most of it, but always did) I occasionally stumble over something that recombines the familiar (which is what music does) into a pattern that unexpectedly taps the fun buttons.

I was hooked into this almost unpronounceable band by the unusually beautiful cover art. When a band recognises the importance of presentation and avoids the clichéd and inept imagery of "here's me with my guitar/hat/hair/self loathing", it's likely they put care and craft into their music, too. And it gives nothing away about the music other than perhaps literacy and a respect for formality. Maybe it's an exquisite song cycle by an Appalachian dulcimer consort, informed by loss and a sense of history? Is it fuck.

Research has revealed a common problem with genre definition, although goth/symphonic/experimental metal seems to be the general ball park, none of which would win air time on Uncle Farq's Bag O' Happy Tunes radio show (weeknights on most of these same radio stations).

It's demanding, but there's a mind-blistering amount of invention and style-shifting that makes it compelling and rewarding. Further description is a waste of time. Exceptional music. And, they're French.

This post mooted by Ents.