Release
date: October
25th
2019. Label: Season
Of Mist / Klonosphère / Hell Prod.
Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Sapiens
– S/T
– Tracklisting
Surreal
estates (feat Julien Pras From Mars Red Sky)
Palm
prints (feat Mathieu Dottel From Bukowski)
Fromad
ringers (feat Julien Cassarino From Psykup)
Pure
love ashes (feat Steve Perreux From Robot Orchestra)
Red
wine lullaby (feat Cédric Toufouti From Hangman’s Chair)
Still
down (feat Poun From Black Bomb Ä)
C’est
gênant (feat Mat Peq From Babylon Pression)
Wake
up call (feat Daniel Scherding From Los DisiFromntes Del Sucio Motel)
Cognitive
dissonance (feat Forest Pooky)
Le
feu qui danse (feat Renaud Wangermez From Lofofora)
Members
Nicolas
Foucaud
Thibault
Fassler
Review
Sapiens
is the new project from French Musicians LOS DISIDENTES DEL SUCIO
MOTEL (LDDSM) leader Nicolas Foucaud and Thibault Fassler. Sapiens is
a very different project to LDDSM. As Sapiens is an Acoustic Rock
Project where no fewer than 35 musicians featured on the making of
their new album.
The
following bio will give you more info:
“SAPIENS
is an acoustic rock project founded by LOS DISIDENTES DEL SUCIO MOTEL
leader Nicolas Foucaud, and Thibault Fassler. They composed a 10-song
album for 10 French Rock and Metal singers. From a two-guitars demo
track, the singers were given free rein as far as lyrics and melodies
were concerned. Once the vocal tracks were recorded by the singer
themselves and sent back to them, Nicolas and Thibault then enlisted
the help of over 30 additional musicians to record the tracks,
sometimes form scratch, over a period of more than a year.
The
album as a whole is very diverse and authentic, the composers having
risen up to the challenge of getting the singers out of their comfort
whilst preserving their instantly recognizable vocal identities. A
collective project around humanity and music, with the help of the
lead singers of bands LOFOFORA, MARS RED SKY, HANGMAN’S CHAIR,
BLACK BOMB Ä, BUKOWSKI, PSYKUP, BABYLON PRESSION, ROBOT ORCHESTRA,
FOREST POOKY and LDDSM.“
This
album could be called a passion project of sorts. As Nicolas and
Thibault have put a lot of love and effort into their debut album. As
this album is quite emotional throughout and they have called upon
some of the best singers within the French Stoner Rock/Metal scene.
The
album drifts from Acoustic Rock, Stoner Rock, Psych, Hard Rock and
Classic Rock with each song having it’s own distinctive style. it’s
quite different to LDDSM and the other bands that the guest vocalists
are known from.
Opening
song – Surreal Estates – features Julien Pras from Mars Red Sky
and it’s quite a heart-warming and emotionally driven song with
deft lyrics and a cool subtle vocal performance from Julien. The
music is quite sweet
natured in places and very different to the music that Julien,
Nicolas and Thibault are known for. The sullen psychedelic sounds
never feel out of place as this song sets the scene for the rest of
the album.
Second
song – Palm Prints – featuring Mathieu Dottel from Bukowski –
carries on the acoustic grooves with a harder edge and it’s almost
Americana sounding with the harsh lyrics and emotional vocals. The
music has a 90s Alt Rock vibe to it and stays true firmly to it’s
Acoustic Rock roots.
Third
song – Dead Ringers – features Julien Cassarino from Psykup and
is another slow-driven song with a more gloomier sound. The song is
deliberately slow with the slow-paced guitars letting Julien offering
a more modern sounding style of vocals compared to the opening two
songs.
Fourth
song – Pure love ashes –
features Steve Perreux from Robot Orchestra and it’s a more heavier
affair with strands of Hard Rock making a welcome appearance. it’s
still firmly rooted in the world of Acoustic Rock but this song has a
more rebellious feel compared to the songs I’ve heard so far. The
almost grunge based guitars allow Steve to sing heavier vocals and
this ranks as one of the standout songs on the album.
The
rest
of the album follows the Acoustic Rock/Alt Rock template that the
opening 4 songs have shown with a few cool surprises along the way.
Other
cool songs to check out are: Red Wine Lullaby, Still Down, Wake Up
Call and Cognitive Dissonance.
This
album has been a very hard album to review but also a very rewarding
one as well. As the only common theme throughout the album for each
of the songs is they’re all Acoustic and have different singers for
each song. Though you have to give credit to Nicolas and Thibault for
making this whole album work and creating a highly original album in
it’s own right.
Sapiens
also shows the best singers from the French Stoner Rock/Metal scene
being out of their comfort zone and showing people a different side
to them and that’s one of the best things about this album. It’s
quite daring and magical in places to hear the guest vocalists
singing a style of music that you wouldn’t associate with them.
Overall,
Sapiens debut album is a masterclass of Acoustic Rock. If there is
another album in the works, it will have a very hard job to beat
this.
Words by Steve Howe
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Sapiens for the promo. Sapiens debut album will be available to
buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Season of Mist, Klonosphère and Hell Prod from October
25th 2019.
Links:
