ProgRock.com Essentials 2025
Imperfect Silence
Canadian duo delve into melodious noises to drench the void with voodoo vibes.
A musical collective’s mission to “venture even further down the prog path, moving away from previous multi-level stylistics into a more homogenous instrumental sound” might seem bordering on boring in our day and age when many similar ensembles rearrange the same elements of their DNA without any advances towards the unknown as their chosen genre originally dictated. This Montreal team think differently, though, and they set off a few surprises on “Imperfect Silence” that arrives in the wake of 2024’s "The Hierarchies Of Angels" which emerged a year after the band’s debut. Enriching what can be perceived as a sonically familiar art-rock terrain with fresh colors, Thomas Szirmay and Jeremie Arrobas defy their peers’ proclivity for reliance on those stylistic staples and define their own space here.
And the aural space the Canadians carve out for themselves on this album is so geographically varied as to include New Orleans idiom, a possibility other proggers didn’t dare explore. So while mini-epics like “Wrapped In Black” – the scene for which is set via the finely detailed and deeply emotional symphonic grandeur of the titular piece – enshroud the listener in dusky, dynamically striking vistas, “Hallow” not only echoes the “Hello!” of “The Distance Between Here And Now” but also picks up its groove to channel Dr. John’s hypnotic chants. Still, as Arrobas’ vocals and ivories and Szirmay’s soundscapes get tethered to the ground by Rob Harrison’s flute and sax, whose licks imbue the overall imagery with force of nature, and Alains Bellaiche and Roig’s guitars breathe tuneful fragrance into the ether, the exquisite “House Of Shadows” enters the realm of pop balladry, and “Haunted” tries new-wave shoegaze for size. The organ-infused and riff-driven “Endless Beginning” brings in a whiff of blues, however, and “Red Forest” shines its majestic, crazy-ruby light over a folk-tinctured backdrop stricken with owls’ hooting and wolves’ howling.
Enigmatic, indeed – and as alluring as any mystery must be.
*****
