My vinyl addiction has introduced me to so many amazing folks over the years and one of those people is Maxime Dobosz. We often share links to shoegaze releases we both love and buy from each other from time to time. As well as vinyl collector of consummate taste Maxime also has his own shoegaze project called San Carol. To date he’s released three albums of transcendent sounds and has just dropped album number four, Mala Vida. San Carol is his solo project as he also plays in bands such as Big Wool, Sandwich and Asexual. In that same spirit the line up of San Carol changes album to album.
“Maxime ironically says that this album is in a way his “anthology of shoegaze for dummies” as it explores the different corners of the genre, ranging from references to Slowdive, my bloody valentine or Moose, to talk about the most known. However, they sought to propose a production of the already known codes of the genre with a sound deafening and harsh, like having your head sunk under water.“
Let’s dive in and see how that aesthetic bears out on the speakers.
The album opens on ‘come what may’. Immediately you get a sense that this guy knows what he’s doing. This is an amazing pop song first and foremost. The vocal melody is so catchy but it’s what Dobosz swathes that melody in that most impresses. The washed-out guitar and chiming bass recalls some of the Cocteau Twins finest moments. This is a very strong start.
Next up its time to ‘cool out’. Guitars are pushed to the limits here. Feedback becoming an instrument in and of itself. Once again though it’s the song that is at the heart of this, the vocal melody shining through the haze of reverb and fuzz. The standard of production on show here is sky high.
The first guest appears on ‘modern times’. Baptiste, the singer from French hardcore band Fragile joins proceedings. This song has an ethereal, gossamer light vocal intro that suddenly erupts into a fuzzed-out anthem. You could draw parallels to the styles of bands like Nothing, Whirr or Cloakroom in places but this merely nods to its ancestors and sets sail on its own course.
‘goldenwings’ is another example of swathing a stunning pop song in atmospheric guitars and vocal effects. I particularly enjoyed the drumming on this song. The fills on the breaks are class. The guitar solo at the end is a masterclass in beautiful simplicity. Overall, the song straddles the divide between dream pop and shoegaze creating an addictive listening experience.
The album drops tempo and intensity for an acoustic moment called ‘Wildfire’. A vocal loop forming the basis of the melody against an earnestly strummed acoustic begins things. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric track that when it brings in drums and additional lead guitar it never overwhelms that gentle aesthetic so carefully crafted by that opening section.
We’re in ‘unsustainable’ next featuring a guest performance from Sale, a pop artist from Dobosz’ hometown of Angers, France. She’s a superb choice for this dreampop number. The chorus sections really make the most of her angelic voice against the crashing guitars. There’s a joyous energy throughout this track, you can tell they had a lot of fun making it.
We screech headlong into the sonic maelstrom of’ nothing fills up the hole ‘next. The opening riff hits like a tidal wave. The electronic pulses in the verse sections are the perfect foil for the potent guitar work on show here. There’s heavy and then there’s this. Total face melting rock!
The final guest appearance comes from French folk singer Claire Days on supercharged power pop anthem ‘pay no mind’. This feels like a lost artifact from 1991, it’s baggy beat and reverse guitar wails take me back to my youth and I’m here for it. That chorus is just genius, taking off into the stratosphere the way it does. I loved this one so much I had to play on DKFM Shoegaze Radio show back in May.
All too soon the album comes to a close with the soft and euphoric ‘waterfall’. Dobosz strips the San Carol sound back to guitar and voice to deliver an powerful end to this album. This is the measure of him as a musician and songwriter. For this song to have the emotional weight and gravitas with just voice and guitar is an amazing achievement.
Mala Vida paints a vivid picture of Maxime Dobosz’s adeptness in crafting shoegaze music that resonates deeply with the listener. Catchy vocal melodies enveloped in lush, atmospheric instrumentation evoke a nostalgia and warm emotions, and that’s the core of it. Emotions. This is an album designed to make you feel something. Whether that’s elation or sadness, excitement or loneliness this album takes you directly to that place. For me that is the sign of someone who cares deeply about their craft, and make no mistake Dobosz cares deeply. That’s evident in each and every song.
Dobosz says that this will be the final San Carol album. If that is the case, then he is leaving us with work fitting to be that end marker, the full stop to this era of his creativity. Life can get bad, that’s for sure. When music this beautiful is created as a result however I say belle vie.
Mala Vida is out now on the San Carol Bandcamp page.
You can follow San Carol on social media here…..
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