BRUIT ≤ – The Age Of Ephemerality

If there’s one thing I can say for sure, it’s that France has great experimental music, and this year there are some great releases to prove it. One of my favorites is BRUIT ≤‘s second album – “The Age of Ephemerality”. The quartet released it during the spring this year and I can’t get enough of it since then.

Three years ago, I was thoroughly impressed by “The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again”, so I was wondering, how are they going to surpass their strong debut. But to my pleasant surprise, they did! The machine is still burning and it brought us to the Age of Ephemerality.

Before I dive in, you have the chance to hear the album live! BRUIT ≤ are currently on tour, check the dates on the photo below for a show near you. And now, let me tell you why you shouldn’t miss out on seeing them live.

As  the name of the record suggests, the themes that it addresses are today’s fast paced, hollow, consumerist society we have built. Something that has been deeply bothering me over the past year. The internet hasn’t been fun for years. The technological advancement is becoming blatantly unethical and obviously targeted towards profit rather than progress. We are connected, available and observed 24/7. Our everyday life is the dystopian fiction of the sci-fi writers of the past. And the worst part is – everyone seems to be so used to it, as if it’s normal.

That’s why hearing this album made me feel deeply understood, like I’m not crazy or weak for finding all of that unbearable. That there are at least 4 other people out there who feel the same burden. And they managed to create something so profound and beautiful without any lyrics – just with the help of a few voice samples to guide you.

It’s always a delight when classically trained musicians decide to make progressive music, since you can always tell by how refined it is. But in BRUIT ≤’s case it still holds that raw emotion and a little bit of edge, which keep the whole thing so intriguing without overdoing it.

The first track is ‘Ephemeral’ – a great, short introduction of what we’re getting into. It starts out peacefully with the beautiful sounds of the strings, then it all turns 180 degrees when the drums kick in. The atmosphere suddenly becomes heavy and suffocating. Another switch that really fits the track name is its sudden cut at the end – nothing is here to last, even this song. 

‘Data’ “loads up” next with some very satisfying tech sounds. By the end of the track the anxiety progressively starts rising as the pace picks up, really giving us “a feeling of what this future could be like”. I really like the intensity of this one, especially in the drums. You can really see the raw emotion in their KEXP session (also a sneak peek of what you could see live):

The intro to ‘Progress/Regress’ is fantastic. The minor tone and slight uncaniness hit just the right spot, then come the string instruments and everything that follows to slowly fill up the soundscape. All of that brings your pulse back to normal after the previous song, but the calm doesn’t last too long. Suddenly, everything falls apart on top of the peaceful refrain. 

Up next is the beautifully melancholic ‘Technoslavery/Vandalism’. As you would expect from the name, it has a lot more synth sounds, resembling machines. Here we hear a great buildup, leading to a nasty, brooding riff you can feel right in your bones. Past that point it should be the ‘Vandalism’, judging by the switch in pacing.

‘The Intoxication of Power’ starts out very grand. The fanfare-like tune makes me think of some political public announcement being made. Empty promises to the nation. And in the beginning, it all seems to be going great. The rhythmic pace of the track shows it, but somewhere halfway through the downfall is to be foreseen. The early signs of the chaos start seamlessly blending in with the rest of the composition and gradually overtake until it becomes unbearable.

The album ends with a quote from one of the inspirations for the last track – George Orwell’s 1984. It adds to the picture of our reality, but also reminds the listener of their own free will and moral obligation to keep humanity alive. 

In conclusion, “The Age of Ephemerality” is not your typical cookie-cutter post-rock album. I definitely don’t have all the bits and pieces to decipher it completely, but I don’t need them to feel a very deep connection to it. Listening to it feels almost like tapping into the collective unconscious with all of the other lost souls who are trying their best to live through the signs of the times. Seeing all that misery and hopelessness and yet choosing to turn to something beautiful in order to self-preserve. To survive. That’s what makes us human.

 Tracklist:

1.Ephemeral

2.Data

3.Progress/ Regress

4.Technoslavery / Vandalism

5.The Intoxication of Power