Appollonia “Among Wolves” CD

"Among Wolves" is the self-released debut full-length from intriguing French trio Appollonia, and I know I've used this line before, but this really is another band that would fit in well with the overall sounds of French labels like Basement Apes and Radar Swarm. Combining a foundation of roaming, plodding basslines and colorful percussion amidst dense guitars that shift from pounding rhythms to looser, dissonant waves of texture, what does separate these guys from the pack of similar artists in their particular scene is their penchant for frequently adding space to their material—either through peculiar riffing shifts, unique clean/acoustic passages, or utilizing influences generally deemed "post-rock" or "post-metal". What's interesting, though, is that they do all of this in a rather atypical fashion, so they never start to come across as commonplace. Similarly, while they rarely stay in one place for very long, the material doesn't feel chaotic at all. The songwriting could stand for a little more focus when all is said and done, but you can tell that they're keeping a tight hold on where things are going. The recording is also insanely crisp and clear—perhaps in part because the band's a trio—so you can really hear the different interactions between the instruments and get a real feel for the band's use of space and texture. I don't know, there's just a really cool sort of strangeness hovering over the album, you know? There are enough influences swirling around and commingling to where you can't really classify the end result with any blanket genre classification: It's heavy and subdued, abrasive and melodic, rhythmic and abstract, flowing and noisy... all over the place without falling off the map, basically. They also seem to have a strong, consistent visual aesthetic, and from what I can tell the lyrics are a solid mix of the personal and tastefully political, so they're clearly putting thought and effort into every aspect of the band, which means they should only improve over time. It should be interesting to see what the future holds...

Appollonia "In Virgin Dirt"
Appollonia "Passing Lights"

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Appollonia