(Post-Rock, Art Rock, Monotype) [WEB] Astrid - The West Lighthouse Is Not So Far - 2015, FLAC (tracks), lossless

It's quite a leap, music-wise, from their CD towards the release by Astrïd, a quartet of players Vanina Andreani (violin, juno, rhodes, crumar, harmonium, metllophone), Yvan Ros (drums, rhodes, harmonium, metallophone), Cyril Secq (guitars, bowed guitars, juno, piano, charango, harmonium) and Guillaume Wickel (clarinets, rhodes, harmonium and saxophone). I never heard of them before. Their CD has seven lengthy pieces, from six to fourteen minutes and is some musical excursion into the world of post-rock, improvisation and a bit of jazz, all of which is played as though it's a small ensemble - less rock perhaps, especially in any passages in which rock drums don't sound. All of this is very moody and atmospheric music, with gentle, harmonious passages of all those keyboards and soaring violin and wind instruments intoning sad melodies. Sometimes it seems all a bit too sweet for my taste, I must say, but the sad, melancholic mood also didn't leave me untouched (no doubt that's the essence of great music?) and the sunshine today prevented me from bursting out in tears over this and pondering life's difficulties. Filmic, intense, sweet, beautiful, melancholic, americana at times and all such connotations sprang to my mind. Perhaps not the kind of music I'd play everyday, but this leaves me quite impressed. - Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly
Astrïd is: Vanina Andréani (violin, juno, rhodes, crumar, harmonium, metallophone[Junos and Crumars are electric keyboards, I believe]), Yvan Ros (drums, rhodes, harmonium, metallophone), Cyril Secq (guitars, bowed guitars, juno, piano, charango, harmonium) and Guillaume Wickel (clarinets, rhodes, harmonium, saxophone). All those harmoniums! They're been around, at least as a duo of Ros and Secq, since 1997 but this is my first encounter with their work. Well, I'm not sure if it's a good thing that one's initial impression is of someone else's music but it's often tough to avoid. Here, Loren Connors rings out loud and clear, the clear, mournful, bluesy guitar over an organ-like bed of tones and free percussion. There's also, led by the mordant violin, a kind of Godspeed vibe, though a shade or two lighter and more polished, the latter not necessarily a good thing. Indeed, the arrangements are well-crafted enough and there are the requisite daubs of world music accents that this cold have appeared on Nonesuch in the 90s and received a good bit of airplay on NPR. Nice, somber colors throughout but too precious by half for my taste; it will certainly appeal to the darker fringes of the Frisell contingent. - Brian Olewnick

Guillaume Wickel: clarinet, harmonium, saxophone
Yvan Ros: double bass, drums, electric piano
Cyril Secq: electric piano, guitar, harmonium, piano
Vanina Andréani: violin, kalimba
Album has been recorded and mixed in the countryside of Nantes (France) at the Goulephar Studio, between March 2013 and January 2014