Band:	Alcest
Album:	Kodama
Style:	Shoegaze, Atmospheric black metal
Release date:	September 30, 2016
A review by:	corrupt

01. Kodama
02. Eclosion
03. Je Suis D'ailleurs
04. Untouched
05. Oiseaux De Proie
06. Onyx
07. Notre Sang Et Nos Penseées [bonus]

Right in the middle between Shelter and Les Voyages de L'âme - that's where Kodama puts itself. That should be what most people will come here to find out, so I'll say it right away. After Shelter's, let's say, mediocre reception - making a sharp turn to the dreampop-realm of shoegaze, devoid of almost all black metal influences, the one thing we fans have been asking ourselves is: was Shelter a one-off or is Neige going full-on Opeth on us? I can tell you, both happily and sadly to a certain degree, it is neither.

Neige has always been an artist who appears, more than most of his colleagues, to be in the game solely for his own sake - an artist who's just genuinely happy if you like the music he makes and also one that will probably sincerely apologize to you if you don't. I have rarely seen a musician so perfectly, positively flabbergasted by fans singing along and cheering at the stage. That particular character trait of his is what makes me believe to this day that there is no hidden agenda in any of his work. It must simply be what he feels like writing. Apparently, this time he felt like writing Les Voyages Deux. Trust me, you already know this album, even if you haven't heard it yet, and if you feel constantly reminded of "Nous Sommes L'emeraude" while listening to it, then don't worry - it's not just you.

That doesn't mean the album is completely devoid of shrieks or harsh elements, but it would appear that the casual listener will spend a whole spin of it unavailingly waiting for an edge that feels so close and yet never really unfolds. All the while Neige's die-hard fans should begin to realize that, in a genre like shoegaze, sound is not the only defining factor. If you don't bring the harmonies and the buildup, however, there is only the sound left for fans to cling to for shelter (pun intended). Then forget to tune down your guitar and you will be verging on the edge of dreampop just like Kodama is. The majority of these seven tracks are mid-tempo ballads; "Untouched" even sounds like a Shelter B-side, very dominantly featuring warm guitar sounds and long bridges. Three distinct elements pull the sound towards that of earlier releases: drums, riffing, and vocals. None of these evokes the same atmosphere they did on Écailles De Lune, but they do a good job in returning a bit of that familiar feeling that Shelter was lacking. Given a bit of time, I'm sure it'll grow on me.

Maybe this is my own expectations betraying me here, expectations I probably shouldn't have had in the first place. Maybe I'll even look back at this in a few years asking, "What the hell I was thinking, writing such a review?" But right now I cannot see this as more than Neige's early work's little brother. It is still undeniably Alcest - as was Shelter. But I've had so many great moments with this band, so many long nights in front of the record player, and so many great concerts, that I refuse to think this is the best he can do, or this is where Alcest ends musically. I'll still enjoy this, as will most of you, probably; but I'll also keep building up expectations, waiting for the next one.