ASTRAL BAKERS
The French four-piece comprises Sage and Nicolas (sharing guitar and vocal duties), Theodora on bass, and the percussion work by Zoé. Each is an accomplished musician in their own right and has over the past decade worked with various musical outfits, both on stage and behind the sound desk. This is evident throughout the debut record as it is so skilfully crafted and tightly woven. Constantly demonstrating an innate sense of sound, the confluence between members, and the confidence in how they deliver each track is not something that comes without a tremendous amount of experience and craftsmanship.
The disarming ‘Shelter’ sweeps in on a soft breeze of washed toms as droplets of gentile and serene guitar sprinkle over Sage’s vocals. The overlapping euphoric harmonies elevate the track to an almost spiritual level as it continues to soar and swirl.
The tumbling basslines of ‘Pretty Scar’ gently open the matter of trauma and reconciliation. Broaching the topic with sensitivity and minimal musical accompaniment is in equal measure a delicate and powerful methodology that is applied to the track.
The post-punk beginnings of ‘I Don’t Remember’ are but a red herring as the track most certainly borrows heavily from the genre but its light and wobbly peaks are what makes it characteristically different.
Some songs are just so inherently catchy that they have the unfortunate destiny of becoming the soundbite to a commercial. This feels like the fate for ‘Beautiful Everything’ as it is such an upbeat and saccharine sweet tune. Corporations will be lining up around the corner to throw royalty dollars at commandeering this infectious track in their efforts to coopt it for branding and product association.
When something is simple there is nowhere to hide and ‘One More’ is a perfect example of that. Opening with the barest of essentials, an acoustic and Sage’s vocals the duo is all that we are greeted with yet the stripped-back instrumentation and angelic vocals offer far more than the pairing would suggest at face value. As the rest of the band comes to Sage’s aid, the song effortlessly swells with each member bringing their respective best. As the track builds with each successive layer of guitar, harmonies, and percussion, it inflates to a level that would scant be recognisable at the onset of the track but therein lies its charm and skill. The hallmarks of incredible musicianship and intuitive performing.
Mixing a little new romanticism and indie pop, ‘Something New’ is a lite slice of fun. Blending lofty guitar solos and big ballad feels, it rollicks along to its own tempo and sits slightly outside of The Whole Story but like all stray family members it still has a place at the table come mealtime.
A reflective and reverb-rich ‘Why’ takes hindsight and scans over the history that has been and gone. Honest tracks have honest sounds and the minimal work here is a fitting accompaniment to an assessment of the ages and phases we each go through. The tale of ‘Easy’ is perhaps a familiar one and that of lost love. A love that wasn’t cherished and as it diminished, so did the protagonist.
An atmospheric and spacious piece, ‘Only Lonely’ conjures a scene of openness. A setting ideal for contemplation as Sage queries the “contradiction to the rule”. Moving from the slow expanse and into ‘The Whole Story’, the gear shift is an intriguing choice for the concluding track. Perky and pulsating with its bobbing melody, it serves as a sharp reminder that lurking within all the members of Astral Bakers lies an ability that can take any musical direction, at any time. A fact cemented by its abrupt and decisive ending.
