True to their frenetic release schedule, Denuit duo is back with a new album barely a year and a half after LOVE violence. In a very down-to-earth way, this tireless cycle of albums – in which the agony of a work coming to an end is followed by rebirth through a new collection – is reflected in the Ouroboros that adorns the artwork! We can guess that Lis Araignée and Ivi Topp had more personal ideas in mind, evoking an eternal cycle that allows us, each time, to start afresh whilst drawing on past experiences – a wholly personal interpretation of the myth of Sisyphus, where the absurdity of existence highlighted by Camus gives way to something constructive and optimistic. This is very much in keeping with Denuit and their tendency to always let light shine through the darkness: just look at this album title, once again split into two parts as if to play with its meaning: nothing lasts | forever – whilst one might have settled for a fatalistic ‘nothing lasts forever’, Denuit contrasts eternity with the fleeting nature of things.
One thing immediately strikes the listener as the album begins with a stifling atmosphere: the tone is introspective and contemplative. Denuit reveals a side of themselves plagued by inner turmoil with the same touching honesty as ever, but the frenetic dance tracks are a long time coming. The synths are sombre; Lis’s vocals, as expressive and theatrical as ever, become a vehicle for questions and doubts – as in the more industrial finale of the demon undermy bed, and above all in the mother of void, a haunting lament where restraint contrasts with a few painful outpourings that float in the twilight. This atmosheric high point also marks the turning point of the album, the moment when the rock is about to fall down the other side of the mountain.
Like a rebirth after death, like dawn after the darkest hours of the night, nothing lasts | forever comes to life after sighing amongst the graves, and suddenly the singles released in advance are also rearing their heads. Denuit remind us that, beyond the spectral atmospheres, these two know exactly how to get us moving. EBM and darksynth influences burst forth with tiens-moi le monde tombe, a quintessential anthem for the duo – something at once delicate and triumphant, a graceful bittersweet balance hovering above the void. Denuit, like a medium, summons and blends gothic references from the past and present to, we sense, become one of the future themselves. The tone hardens and intensifies with echo from hell, faceless, then its response show your face: emotion, rhythm, a few spooky touches in the electronic sound, although the horror-inspired reference universe is less prominent on this album than it has been in the past.
It still works just as well as ever. Denuit pull it off thanks to the soul they breath into the tracks, but also to that elegant sense of balance, that way of transforming confessions and hidden pain into danceable anthems that inspire courage, and that mastery of the contrasts between melancholy and hope. The approach is moving thanks to its sincerity, its ability to transform inner demons into something that can be shared so that we emerge stronger, but also thanks to a unique artistry and interpretation that blends baroque and more modern sounds. Nothing lasts: oxytocin returns to the melancholy of the album’s opening as the journey draws to a close. Eight tracks – that’s short! Eternity: you can then start listening again, on repeat, which will keep you company until the next cycle!
