5 out of 5

Label: Araki Records

Produced by: Johann Berger (recorded by)

I listen to… a lot of instrumental rock. I feel like that should make it harder to find things I like and maybe it does, but it’s also a numbers game: the more I’m exposed to, the more I find to enjoy. Is it linear growth, proving some eternal ratio of “good” and “bad?” Is it exponential, but only as an expression of a type of confirmation bias? I mean, after I get done listening to all of the music ever, I can let you know. Until then, I continue to be amazed at how much good stuff three is out there, and also how much of it is turning out to be French.

French trio Le Château Cosco give us five ultimate rockers on HORTENSE, adding a doublebass into the “this is what makes us unique” pile, but I’m not claiming that matters – it is, and always will be, the music that matters. Five guitars? Two drummers? If the compositions aren’t good, who cares?

The stomp and roll riffage that kicks off H.E.E.T. sounds pretty normal; you’re expecting something accessibly White Stripes-ish, or Hives-ish – it’s polished, it’s head-bobby. But the group takes it past the point most bands would, holding on to this steady beat in krautrock-like dedication before busting out some stop-starts and open chords and heavier bashing, then returning to the steady state.

HORTENSE is full of stuff like this, providing a backbone of just solid melodies that guarantee toe-tapping, and burning that into your brain by letting it roll on, the riff so good you’re actually okay with another round. But down the road, we get some added emphatic shouts, clean-picked bridges, utter noise freakouts – the group invests in pay offs, and they work. Every single time. It’s showy and arena-sized without having to be especially flashy or finding the group in repeated one-upping-itself attempts. The recording by Johann Berger and mixing by STW are the perfect complement: you actually can hear the fuzzy warmth of that doublebass, and guitars get harsh on the fringes and warm in the middle, with punchy drums making every kick and cymbal splash absolutely land.

Every song on HORTENSE is an event. You start off in a familiar place, but one that avoids the excessive glow-up of some of the bands mentioned by stewing in the best moments for a lovingly long time – the group adores their riffs, and you do too – and then Le Château Cosco will let loose long enough to give you your headbanging kicks, restoring their groove to give a constant drip of steady-state and blast-your-ears-off greatness.