We Insist! -
The Babel Inside Was Terrible/
Oh! Things Are So CorruptibleReview by Nick DeMarino (StonerRock.com)
Southern Records
Release Date: 2007; 2009
You have to hand it to Paris, France’s We Insist! Any band that educes and integrates so many different s t y l es without sounding contrived or hopelessly progressive deserves recognition. Sure, there’s a lot of space in rock for experimentation, but there’s equal room for failure. Let’s be honest, the stone soup approach usually results in music that’s either too bland to be palatable or so complex as to be unlistenable. But the eternally exclamatory We Insist! pulls off everything from the angular spasms of Shellac to the elastic eccentricities of prog colossus Gentle Giant.
Drummer and vocalist Etienne Gailochet guides the listener through the thick mesh of riffs weaved by guitarists Eric Martin and Julien Divisia, bassist Julien Allanic, and saxophonist François Wong. There’s a lot of punctuated timing, and many of the vocal parts harmonize with lead guitar lines (or vice versa depending on your perspective). The sax parts are quite busy and often venture into acid jazz territory. While not immediately memorable, the melodies are quite quirky and shine through on repeat listens.
Their fourth album, 2007’s
Oh! Things Are So Corruptible, is dynamic in orchestration and intensity. While the opener “An Architect” displays the band’s ability to switch effortlessly from guitar and singing to full band syncopations, it’s the flow from one song into the next that’s most intriguing. Take “The Great Disorder,” an exercise in tense minimalism that gives way to a flurry of saxophone trills and Primus-like bass fills on “Half Awake.” The moodiness of the former intensifies the hooks of the latter and lends a feeling of catharsis to riffs that would otherwise sound masturbatory. Also of note are the exploratory transitions on “Down to the Cellar,” which set up the epic singularity of “Early Recollections.” Throughout the album the guitars have a relentless intensity strongly reminiscent of The Melvins.
Their fifth album, 2009’s
The Babel Inside Was Terrible, is spastic and math-y. The dual-guitar lines on “Oakleaves,” “Custom Device,” and “Cogent Stories” are all intriguing but largely fleeting. This is the band’s greatest asset and biggest flaw. They’re really interesting and demand attention with smart, complex riffs, but nothing is catchy enough to stick. Sure, some of the super long, Battles-s t y l e grooves repeat enough to sink in, but by the time the album is over, it’s hard to remember very much. The ballad “Thoughtful Anatomy” and pseudo waltz “Biting Tongues” are further proof of this. They’re great for listening, even rock out to for a bit, but ultimately the songs gets mentally filed away as titles or track numbers, not a sing-able melody. Then again, the journey is arguably more important than the goal, and if that’s really the case, these guys are definitely on the right track.
We Insist! proffers a demented, eclectic take on popular music that utilizes a lot approaches but stubbornly refuses to stay on any one thing for more than a few minutes. It makes for engaging listens and compositional lessons.
URL: http://www.weinsist.com/
