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What
catapults this young Bourdeaux trio beyond the mere
hardcore camp is their frequent excursions into
progressive and post-rock territories. It’s quite the
treacherous path Appollonia opts to walk. Among
Wolves is an intricate record, filled with fractured
songs that are equal parts gutsy rage and colorful
daydream, this album succeeds by being both things at
the same time.
Appollonia
puts forth their proposition from the start, “Passing Lights” is
incandescent violence; a smeared riff breaking down into low
tunage and an enticing groove-laden rhythm all in less than a
minute. There are a few more parts to this song, - an acoustic
break, plain screams, dips in volume, etc -, bands rarely pack
as much ammo in one six-minute track as Appollonia. And let’s
not even get into how coherent this whole album is. “Fences and
Thieves” is almost all fast strumming acoustic, only carrying
the hardcore spirit through plenty of screams and an electric
chorus. How come no one thought of this before? The double bass
drumming is a nice metal touch.
The acoustic
interlude “The Blond Grin” breaks the feeling of the album in
two. From here on out, Appollonia’s post rock dwellings are even
more effusive. “Wolves #1” is slow and sparse with an agonizing
tempo it recalls the sounds of their countrymen Year of No
Light. So does “My Mausoleum”, a sprawling half post rock half
post hardcore tune of impressive might. There is yet one more
interlude, which gives way to another semi acoustic track, its
terse beginnings quickly crumbling into heaviness. I am very
surprised by this French band. Judging by the work and that of a
few others (Year of No Light, Monarch!, to name two) there is a
lot of talent and a bold attitude towards underground extreme
music in the Gallic scene. Even more surprising is the fact that
Appollonia isn’t signed yet.
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