5 out of 5

Label: Humus Records

Produced by: Kevin Gallant

Y’all, I’ve been listening to instrumental metal for decades by this point, and I know there’s so much out there I haven’t heard, but, like, I kinda have – you hear the band names or see them in passing, getting a general gist of their subgenre, and if / when something should be on your radar, it manifests itself. But: I recognize I’m wearing some US-tinted glasses when I make claims like that, and I try to swap ’em out for international colors as often as possible, thinking I’m covering my bases, until Mouche-Miel somehow exists since the late 2010s without even a blip on my sensors.

This is… everything I want. Sometimes I find that, though I’m often making an exception: the production is maybe a little off of my tastes, or the drums miss a beat, or they don’t rock hard enough, or rock too much, or I accept that I’m hard to please. Until, again – Mouche-Miel.

The time changes of prime Keelhaul with the bravado of Oxes but the full-steam ahead focus of 5ive… with a perfected balance of showmanship, conciseness, willingness to rock, and sense of space. The duo – I can’t believe this much rock is only a duo – never misses a beat, and hits all the riffs while changing it up enough to keep tracks feeling unique and still focused. It seems so simple, to just write solid rock songs that offer some time-change spice in the bridges, and memorable hooks, but of course it’s not, especially when walking the line between an organic, live sound and the tightly coiled punch of precision production – thanks to Coilguns maestro Kevin Gallant.

Satellites also gains some structure – something that gives it motivation and weight outside of its headbanging awesomeness – by having a structural narrative: “the lives of laboratory animals who survived a rocket crash during a space mission.” Does it sound like nonsense? Sure, but you can feel it, I swear, with each tune an anthem that feels aligned with various creatures on the album art, weirdos and survivors all.

The bands I listed are your reference point: loud, heavy, fast. If that’s at all your ballpark, Mouche-Miel manage to offer something new in a very crowded landscape.