Naïve – Altra

[nyrating]

12th July 2015 Sophie Ruhnke Album Reviews 0

Naïve is a French band which really aroused my interest with their genre: Electro/Trip-Hop/Metal. I couldn’t imagine what this style would sound like, so I got curious and gave their new record Altra, which was already released in March, a try.

The trio based in Toulouse are already releasing their third album, independently, with Altra. To me, this album is quite an experience, because on one hand it isn’t metal at all, but on the other hand, Naïve delivers some good guitar melodies and drum beats. But somewhow, they manage to create a nearly perfect symbiosis of rock/metal and electro. The only other band I think is able to do this is Amaranthe, but they do it in a totally different way.

The songs create a depressing feeling, also caused by Jouch, Naïve‘s singer, who sometimes sounds really monotonous. I think the perfect word to describe the mood of the songs is “floating”, because listening to the songs feels like this, like you are floating over an ocean, feeling the (sometimes cold, sometimes warm) wind and just smelling the ocean. This feeling is also perfectly captured on the album’s cover artwork.

There are some longer tracks (around eight minutes or more), but every song for itself doesn’t get boring. The album as a whole sometimes does so. Maybe it’s because Altra needs some time to grow on one. But in the end, it’s the atmosphere that matters, and Naïve are able to create a very strong one.

All in all, Altra is not an album for everyone. If you are searching for heavy stuff and epic guitar riffs and things like that, Altra is definitely the wrong record. But if you want to relax or you just want to sit in a corner and think about life, this album is the perfect soundtrack for that.