PERILYMPH

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/

While I purposely use pretty broad, amorphous genre definitions on this site, I generally aim to highlight acts who are musically adventurous or inventive. A common way artists spice up their music is through various forms of contrast. This is especially common in metal and various subgenres which start with "post," where it's often a harsh-clean contrast. Another dichotomy occasionally used is an electronic-acoustic one.

I've previously covered Perilymph, the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Fabien de Menou. The band's last album, Deux, was a wonderful blend of synth-led space-kraut balanced smartly against pared-back acoustic passages. Tout en Haut (Eng. On Top) follows in a similar sonic and textural path.

The minute-and-a-half "Intro" sets a dramatic astral scene, with big synth lines and bombastic percussion which sounds like it could have been the opening scene to some '60s sci-fi epic. The intro resolves smoothly into "La Genese", which has a laid-back jazzy funkiness to it. There's a lounge-like retro-futuristic feel that the band utilizes skillfully; I could very easily imagine a less-able act making a botch job of this and coming off as campy. The last 90 seconds or so is a more urgent passage. A repeating synth motif acts as the focal point, but big, buzzing synth glissandi steal the show in the final seconds.

The album's title track is next, and it opens on gentle acoustic strumming and nebulous synth pads. Once the verses get going, there's a late '60s psych bounciness to this song, like you might expect to hear on one of the better cuts on A Saucerful of Secrets. Early Pink Floyd comparisons are easy to continue with as "Tout en Haut" launches into its second movement. The acoustic jazz-rock is reminiscent of "Pow R. Toc H." or moments on More.

"Sans Savoir" starts with a haunting acoustic passage. Echoing vocals and harmonized acoustic guitars draw the listener's attention, but synth is subtly deployed to flesh things out. Around its midpoint, the feeling warms up a bit, aided by a restrained synth lead.

In contrast, the opening of "Coulis" returns to some of the album's earlier jazz-funk sounds. This track is mostly instrumental, with the last four-plus minutes dedicated to peaks and troughs of gradual buildup.

The nine-minute "Où" follows, and it takes its time to get going. Distant-sounding bass and squeals of electric guitar fold together with swirling electric piano and simple percussion. Things get pared back for the opening verse to a basic acoustic package. More texture is gradually reintroduced, and the song's back half features rich atmospheres and engaging soloing.

Tout en Haut closes on "Le Sombre et le Rire". This is a relaxed, lush piece that plays up its spacious atmosphere. The last couple minutes again delve explicitly into jazz rock. While I enjoy this track, it didn't feel like an album-closer until its final minute. It's got an appropriately grand finale, but the preceding five minutes don't feel like they had that much  of a logical build-up to this.

Perilymph's latest album is clearly related to its predecessor, though it is distinct from Deux. Even on acoustic tracks, synths are almost always present, which lends an air of continuity to this record.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2021/08/16/album-review-perilymph-tout-en-haut/

Germany has been at the epicenter of cosmic, experimental rock music that incorporates electronic elements since the early 1970s. The genre is called krautrock, after all. (The term was initially?rightly, in my view?rejected by German artists; the English music press invented the term in order to write off the movement.) Perilymph both adheres to and bucks this genre's Germanness: this act is a one-man project based in Berlin, though the man behind it, Fabien de Menou, is French.

Regardless of whence Perilymph hails, Deux, this act's second release, is a wonderful blend of psychedelia, progressive rock, and spacey textures.

The opening "Avec" is awash in reverbed vocals and lush synthesizers, and the simple drums push the song along in a steady, insistent way. There's a hint of something spooky and sinister hiding just beneath the surface of this song, but it never fully rears its head. Perilymph deals in this sort of subtlety throughout the whole album. Where "Avec" drove forward with an anxious beat and big splashes of synth and guitar, "I'm Not Where" pares things down. It floats gently, with haunting vocals reverberating out over a simple acoustic guitar arpeggio. There is the occasional embellishment of psychedelic synthesizers, but most of the song sticks to bare-bones simplicity.

"I'm Not Where" closes with a few striking chords of fuzz guitar, segueing directly into "Sept". "Sept" opens with semi-metallic riffage, though space-age synthesizers calm the song down. By the time the verses begin, "Sept" has become a meditative piece rife with Tangerine Dream and Brainticket influences. In classic krautrock fashion, the repetition strengthens the music's impact, and the closing guitar solo revisits the song's heavy opening moments.

Deux's second half consists of the three-part "Le Voyage Atomique" suite. Part I opens with an airy yet rich synthesizer that reminds me of Vangelis in many ways. This association is eventually augmented by a twinkling guitar arpeggio and an energetic, jazzy rhythm section. Slight variations in the underlying synthesizers and flourishes from the bass keep this motorik-fueled movement highly engaging.

Following the triumphant finale of Part I, Part II acts as a table-setting interlude. It's brief and tense and leads into the subdued sequenced synth of Part III. Atonal piano plinks and weird percussion keep the atmosphere close and disorienting. This pulsing, taut, synth-and-percussion movement is Perilymph's best demonstration yet of their ability to make musical menace.

On Deux, Perilymph demonstrates that semi-electronic krautrock can still sound fresh and original in today's musical landscape. It's smart in its brevity: the 35 minutes of music here fly by without a wasted second. Deux is a great album, and I'd consider it a good entry point for someone with an interest in krautrock.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/07/28/album-review-perilymph-deux/

'Tout En Haut' means 'At The Very Top'. Hey, this obviously fits! The PERILYMPH band is hailing from France, who is surprised? Or is it Berlin after all? I'm not sure about the real origin. Anyhow, here we have four musicians who are delivering a highly entertaining mixture of Psychedelia, Kosmische Musik, Space as well as Kraut Rock. Seven enchanting songs are constituting this vinyl length production. Each of them provided with its own unique identity, where the credits are assigned to the entire band. Originally born out of a Fabien de Menou solo project I would claim that Nicolas Mangione is another driving force on this occasion. Because, aside of various instruments, they both are responsible for the lyrics, and then consequently the vocal task. All is sung in French language by the way.

The rhythm task furthermore is predominantly relaxed, hypnotic, Kraut Rock inspired. And so I would name Trees Speak when looking for a band respectively project with a similar approach. 'This is the sound of the ever changing world of PERILYMPH ...' they say. Yep, true, wonderful sonic excursions! Acoustic guitar driven psychedelia, underway on cosmic routes. Melodic compositions, expressive electric guitar solos, well thought out synthesizer and sample input. The transition from the album introduction into La Genèse is simply brilliant. The parallel composed synthesizer and bass mantra further on, a nice groove, ethereal vocals, splendid flow! Considering the sheer amount of music stuff that already has been produced for this genre I'm really happy when bands are developing such new gems from time to time. Chapeau! 4.5 stars on the PA scale.