Photo courtesy of DFA Records
It's been quite a week for DFA, hasn't it? Their grouchy leader, James Murphy, has resurrected LCD Soundsystem and a nation of folks who probably identify with the narrator of "Losing My Edge" just a little too much don't know how to feel about it. If you're one of them, give yourself a break and sink your teeth into the label's newest project, minimal wave duo Essaie Pas.Comprised of Montreal-based producers Marie Davidson and Pierre Guerineau, their first full length, Demain Est Une Autre Nuit drops on the influential New York label on the February 19, and if it's as good as lead track "Le Port du Masque" suggests then we're in for a treat. They're basically the band that every Xeno and Oaklander fan's been waiting for since Xeno and Oaklander went quiet. God, remember when it felt like Xeno and Oaklander were huge, and every cool kid you knew was starting a minimal wave night in a basement? They were the best days of my life, I think. That was my summer of '69.Moving swiftly on, we think that you'll like Essaie Pas as much as we do because who doesn't like really moody music made by moody looking Canadians that look like models and make music that'd sound great in really moody arthouse films where moody looking model types do whatever it is moody looking model types do in arthouse films about moody looking models? An idiot, that's who.The video for "Le port du masque est de rigeur" is a strobe heavy romp down a nightmarish road to hell. Everyone involved looks terrifying. Women swig beer. Statues stare on, passively. It's all very serious and very French and very art school — in a very good way. The song itself is a rollicking ride through the clubbier end of the minimal wave spectrum. You know what to expect by now: big, bruising, semi-industrial basslines, gloriously reedy synth lines, really serious vocals. It's the most achingly hip thing you'll hear all month — in the best way possible. Check out the video exclusively here on THUMP. As a warning, it does contain strobes, so be advised.
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Demain Est Une Autre Nuit by Essaie Pas is released on limited edition orange sunrise coloured LP, CD, and digitally on February 19, 2016, on DFA. Pre-order it here.Follow Essaie Pas on Facebook // SoundCloud