PROGRESSIONS IMAGINAIRES

Arriving three years after their last effort, Perilymph's fourth album, Progressions Imaginaires, is this group's newest output. I've covered this band a couple times in the past, and I've always enjoyed their work. They have always done a great job at contrasting spare, acoustic passages with big, warm retro synth tones. 

Perilymph's past work has often straddled the always-fuzzy line between psych and prog. That has a lot to do with the way that they evoke the instrumental tones of the late 1960s, when psych and prog were both in their infancies and it was all a big mushy blob of forward-thinking rock music. This album, though, sees the band pushing in a more clearly progressive direction. The tones and textures are as lush and psychedelic as ever, but the songwriting is more dynamic, mature, and inventive.

After the dramatic, intergalactic synth theme in this album's intro, the first proper song on Progressions Imaginaires is "Les Yeux". Soulful electric piano gives this song a grounded warmth alongside the swirling sci-fi keyboard tones. Twinkling acoustic guitars jibe with the many synthesizers in an interesting way, which lends a sense of wholeness to the sound palette.

This piece is followed by the first of four tracks named "Interlude". The mood here is contemplative, with acoustic guitar arpeggios and piercing synths taking the lead. Following this mellow passage, "Loin du Bruit" opens with a jumpy, staccato pattern. There's a jazzy bounciness to this composition, and it's a great complement to the smoothness of this album's prior tracks. Big blasts of brash, piercing synths punch through every now and then, and it really adds to the weight and drama of this cut. In its final two minutes, there's a strangely percussive synth pattern that reminds me of Pink Floyd's "On the Run". Combined with the stuttering drumbeat, it does a great job at propelling this piece to a strong climax.

"Interlude 2" again puts acoustic guitar at the forefront, though synth embellishments are never far away. I'm a big fan of the vocal arrangement here. It's dreamy and watery, reminding me of passages on Abbey Road.

"Aventure" has a rather slow, stripped-back opening. A high-pitched synthesizer line glides through the air. Eventually, an uncharacteristically heavy and bombastic theme emerges, and it elevates Perilymph's music to a level they've never before achieved. It channels many greats of progressive rock without being derivative. Though not nearly as flashy, this song contains a number of Rush-y moments; the verses, in turn, plunge back into late '60s psychedelia, for an enchanting contrast. This song feels so much quicker than its eight-minute runtime. The instrumental passages feel so natural, and the way the orchestration keeps growing grander is incredible.

There's an airy skitteriness to "Interlude 3", and this band's jazz inclinations are at their most obvious here. The drumming is tight, restrained, and smart; and the wavering organ and strangely-tuned chimes maintain a disorienting atmosphere.

"Un Instant Ou Deux" bursts out of the gate with a powerful, ascendant synth line. The verses are rather simple Perilymph standards. They're catchy, and as the song progresses, they integrate more fully with this album's preceding complexities.

The album ends on a pair of short songs. "Interlude 4" is barely a minute long, but it's a nice little breather. "Outro" revisits the theme from "Intro", albeit in a darker mood, and it's an effective conclusion.

Progressions Imaginaires is Perilymph's strongest album to date and an easy contender for my nascent best-of-2024 list. The songwriting is complex and engaging, and the playing is tight. The band effortlessly balances complexity and grandiosity against more pared-back passages, and the whole album is an incredibly satisfying experience, front-to-back.

Review originally published here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/04/08/album-review-perilymph-progressions-imaginaires/