It will come as no surprise that ‘Choses Sauvages III’ is the third album from the Montreal based six-piece of that name. While they might take their numerological approach to record naming from Led Zeppelin, that is where the similarities end. Back in an era where musical tribal loyalties were more dogmatic, they would have been arch enemies as the Canadian group specialise in a sound that is marginally closer to new wave than post-punk. Their name translates as Wild Things but Reg Presley and his band of Troggs also have little influence over their sound.
The nine songs that make up the latest instalment of their triptych of full-length works are tight, short and refrain from any showy solos. The record’s qualities are best illustrated on opening track ‘Fixe’ (‘Still’), a three-minute blur of fidgety guitar and swirling synth giving it a Devo-ish quality. All their lyrics are in French so the translations are welcome. Whereas the music might give a sense of this track’s themes of attempting to cast aside insecurity (“good riddance intrusive thoughts / are no longer welcome / I am the sole master of my destiny / I am through with running”), many of the following songs benefit from the clarification.
‘Incendie au paradis’ (‘Fire in Paradise’) is more mid-tempo, mixing auto-tuned vocals, emphatic guitar chords and synths that start off auditioning for an 80s chart hit before developing a mind and tuning of their own. Lyricist, Félix Bélisle tackles the promises of Artificial Intelligence together with ethical questions about it before asking, “Should we count the days we have left or dance?” The qualities of the song suggest erring towards the latter.
Beginning like the soundtrack to an early computer game, ‘Level up à l’intérieur’ (‘Level Up Inside’) which features Rémi Gauvin has understated vocals and an air of musical restraint which makes the brief bursts of guitar shredding more effective, a classic example of quiet / loud dynamics. ‘Cours toujours’ (‘Keep Running’) has an 80s sheen to its synth expansions, insistent bass and Air-like vocals as it delves into the identification of problems with the self and the struggle to tackle them, eventually asking, “am I too sensitive?”
Lysandre Ménard lends her dreamy vocals to ‘Chaos Initial’ (‘Original Chaos’), a minimal outing about the quest for cosmic identity which represents a mid-album lull. In common with a few tracks, it ends with questions (“Am I the key to the riddle? / Or are we children? / Found embracing oblivion?”. In contrast, ‘Faux départ’ (‘False Start’) is a delightfully itchy punk-funk concoction that sees Bélisle scour the world for meaning and light before returning a bit tired from the wandering.
With its scratchy guitars vaguely summoning ‘Heaven Up Here’ era Bunnymen and wrapping it in icy synths, ‘‘En joue’ (‘At Gunpoint’) attempts to process worldwide violence and dehumanisation. ‘Deux Assassins’ (‘Two Assassins’) surrounds its enigmatic observations about watching assassins kissing and dancing like a hypocrite with repetitive guitars and synth wanderings. Oddly, the album ends with its longest track, exceeding the five-minute mark, ‘Big Bang’, a predominantly instrumental piece that sounds unlike anything that has gone previously, a blend of Krautrock and the atmospheric jazz-flecked end of techno. What initially seemed like drifting filler is upon further acquaintance revealed to be mesmerising and shows that Choses Sauvages have a welcome capacity to surprise.
Choses Sauvages: Choses Sauvages III – Out 28 March 2025 (Audiogram)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
