Demain Est une Autre Nuit
is the first widely available full-length from
Essaie Pas
, but the Montreal-based couple --
Marie Davidson
and
Pierre Guerineau
-- have been active in the city's music scene for years.
Davidson
has released two excellent solo albums (
Perte d'Identite
Un Autre Voyage
) in addition to being a member of
Land of Kush
and a few other projects, and
Guerineau
has engineered recordings by
Dirty Beaches
,
Femminielli
, and others. Together, their work treads similar territory to
's minimal wave solo efforts, consisting of hypnotic electro and disco rhythms along with vocals spoken as well as sung in French; this album's "Retox" is cut from the same cloth as
solo tracks such as "Exces de Vitesse." The cold, suspenseful songs are equally reminiscent of
Giorgio Moroder
John Carpenter
film scores as well as the industrial synth pop of
Chris & Cosey
, and there's a distinctive French pop influence as well, particularly in the staccato cyber-chanson "Carcajou 3," one of the album's brighter, more playful songs. The album's second half gets faster and more hypnotic; "Le Port du Masque Est de Rigueur" has an intense, racing feel, and near-instrumentals "Facing the Music" and "Lights Out" tip toward psy-trance and EBM, respectively. The album ends with a sad, dramatic ballad titled "La Chute," which concludes with a sort of crackling sound, like embers dying out. The album constantly maintains feelings of loneliness and obsession, and serves equally as a soundtrack for fantasy exploration as well as late-night dancefloor enrapturement. ~ Paul Simpson