3 out of 5

Label: Un Je-Ne-Sais-Quoi

Produced by: Clément Vercelletto (mixed by)

Going in to L’Engoulevent blind, I was quickly reminded: Un Je-Ne-Sais-Quoi is an experimental label. It’s why I’m here, after all, to introduce me to some outré heroes, and discover music / styles that open up further avenues of discovery.

With that reminder, though, opener La Tourmaline is still quite a sense shocker, as UJNSQ’s experimentation has often taken on more palatable or quirky forms: oddball electronica; percussion workouts; things I can sit with.

L’Engoulevent doesn’t seem to be about that, though; its audible man-behind-the-musics of hearing keys and pedals which make the sounds frantically pressed is one of its organic charms, but the actual output can be assaultive, and that’s new to UJNSQ. As we step beyond the opener, though, while the aural palette is still unusual for the label, Clément Vercelletto’s approach to what equates to busy drone is more familiar to some of their long-form experimentalists on the imprint, like Tachycardie.

As a Matthew Bower dedicant (Sunroof!, Skullflower), L’Engoulevent’s glittery, tweeting sounds are not far from some of MB’s catalogue, but this unfortunately gives me quite a comparison: I’m not dedicated to Bower by happenstance – his noise appeals to me: its layers; the throughput of mesmeric qualities amongst chaos. The first couple tracks from this album give me that, but start to fall back towards more open-ended sound experimentation after that – taking a concept and letting it sit and spin for minutes on end, more akin to Simon Wickham-Smith and / or his works with Richard Youngs (yes, more VHF stuff – admittedly my main source for such music). I definitely dig the vibes, but L’Engoulevent lacks a bit of an immersive quality – something missing between that transition from assault to contemplation, and across the album, I think the press copy set me up for more of a theme than I’m hearing, as these tracks were purportedly constructed via an organ converted to tootle out bird sounds. You hear this up front and it’s amazing, but either I’m misunderstanding the press or its been manipulated wholly on other songs, as it becomes background to more “standard” electro bleets.

The groups / artists mentioned are good touchpoints for this, though to my ears, L’Engoulevent is more a collection of experiments than something meditative or intentional, undercutting its immersiveness.