Long time readers of the blog will know how happy I am when I get an email from those maggots over at Dirty Filthy Records. Today see’s the release of Monsters, the third album from French three-piece SERVO. To date the band have released their debut opus The Lair of Gods before going on release their second album, Alien, via the good folks at Fuzz Club.
Comprised of Arthur Pierre (guitar/vocals), Louis Hebert (bass/vocals) and Hugo Magontier (drums/vocals) the band have a clear agenda with their music.
“The music is to serve the live. Create a powerful and immersive show. Each track is blessed by brutality and heaviness. An assault of trance-inducing noise and blinding flashes of light”
You know me, I love my music heavy so let’s drop the needle and see where it takes us.
The album opens on the downright filthy ‘Island’. The squall of feedback and discordant notes ushers in a hypnotic pulsing behemoth of a track. This is dark stuff with that uses dynamics in the mix to great effect. That false stop is really impactful. Pierres vocals varies from quite matter of fact delivery to screaming at the top of his lungs.
We emerge into ‘Glitch 2.1’ amped up and ready for it. This one feels like it’s constantly on the very brink of chaos, of exploding into the ether. The verses pare it back but the threat remains, looming in the shadowy darkness. When it does explode into screaming, it’s only a transitory moment but it leaves you breathless.
SERVO aren’t letting the pace up. ‘Day and Night Monsters’ comes tearing in all wonky bass and motorik drums. There are shades of Idles in the vocal delivery. The chorus is like this moment of unity in the chaos of the maelstrom. The groups voices joining together to chant the song title.
That unity continues next as ‘Interlude’ comes in like some modern monastic prayer. It’s like a palate cleanser before we get ready to throw ourselves headfirst back into the fray.
And the fray is in full effect on ‘Peaks’. A call and response between the duotone of the bass and the cosmic energy of the guitar. The vocals are more otherworldly than anything so far on the album. It’s a really unique approach and makes this my album highlight.
A metallic, industrial sounding percussion leads us into ‘Stadium’. The bass, all fuzzed out creates the foundation for the band to create a really smooth and silky track. When the fuzz disappears, the bass is revealed in all its glory. Swear to god I had to double check it wasn’t Jah Wobble. If you’re looking for a first track to explore, I’d highly recommend this one.
‘Thank You/Maniac’ lulls you into false sense of security with a chilled synth arpeggio before pummelling your senses from every angle. Again, check out the acrobatic basslines on show here. Absolutely blinding stuff from Hebert. I can imagine this one being particularly riotous when performed live.
That false start thing is employed again on ‘Who Else Likes Surprises’. This sounds like a song Joy Division could’ve made if they had more emphasis on the joy. It’s just so dynamic with loads going on to keep your ear tuned in, you just never know what’s going to happen next. This is exceptional stuff.
The album closes out on the sprawling epic that is ‘Giants’. Once again, I challenge you to try and keep up with this one. The bass and guitars constantly growling at each other like two stray dogs fighting over a bone. Vocals veering from that spoken style to the gothic crooning before exploding into full on screamo. Even the full stop of an ending caught me off guard. I’m genuinely breathless after that one.
SERVO have created an outstanding album that veers from that dark, post-punk noise-rock sound through heavy psych rock into almost 80’s goth. It’s a furiously paced album and demands your full attention as it throws curve ball after curve ball at you. What strikes me more than anything though is the life in these songs. They are full of the joy of creation and performance leading me to believe that this is a band you will want to catch live.
Monsters is out now, released in conjunction with EXAG Records, Le Cepe Records and Dirty Filthy Records.
You can follow SERVO on social media here…
Photo Credit
Carine Mansire
Julie Jarosz
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