I once saw someone ask if Angine de Poitrine were a band for musicians because they “just didn’t get it”, and honestly, that makes a lot of sense. A lot of the people talking about this duo, myself included, are either big music enthusiasts or are indeed musicians themselves. But does that really take away from the mass appeal of Angine de Poitrine? Yes, and no.
The polka-dot duo blasted into the limelight earlier this year thanks to their stellar KEXP performance, where many got to witness their musical prowess and quirky getup for the first time. I was one of those people, and I instantly fell in love. I’m a big music nerd both as a listener and a performer, and this scratched an itch I didn’t even know I had, so I have to say I was pretty hype for their second album.
Vol.I was a great deep dive into a duo that was able to make loops interesting, not only because of their otherworldly appearance and microtonal guitars, but because they were able to bring something different to the repetitive. Vol.II, continues this – to a fault – and I came away from the album a little disappointed.
Vol.II manages to continue the band’s exploration into the unknown, creating truly alien-sounding but human-made music, but as I progressed through the album, I felt an uneasing sense of familiarity as looped bass lines blended into one, the quirky microtonal riffs no longer felt novel, and ultimately it all fell a little flat.
I’ll be honest, this was likely because of overexposure and a bit of overhype, too. Vol.II for me is still a great body of work, but it kinda feels like once you’ve heard one, you’ve heard them all. I also think I came at this album not fully digesting their first record, so it all felt a little overplayed, which I don’t think it’s Angine de Poitrine’s fault. I do think they’ll never lose their magic; it is, however, a case of poor timing, as we’re all diving into their first album, hearing this style of music for the first time. I guess you can get too much of a good thing?
I’m in no way knocking the band’s talent. Instrumentally, this band have managed to push the boundaries of trippy math rock and are doing it in such a way that’s absolutely grabbing the attention of audiences that may not have necessarily heard that music before. But this microtonal sound isn’t exactly new; it’s the basis of a lot of Middle Eastern music, and bands like King Gizzard have also experimented with this sound before, too. For it to be slung into the limelight as quickly as Angine de Poitrine has been, I think is what’s helped its popularity.
Overall, I feel Vol.II came at a time when I was obsessively listening to their first record, and I feel that left me a little exhausted by their quirky vibe. It’s not a bad album, but it doesn’t really offer anything unique from their first. I also found some of the looping instrumentals a bit repetitive at times, with one song unintentionally blending into the next.
Score: 5/10
Angine de Poitrine dropped Vol.II on April 3 via Spectacles Bonzaï.