The brief bio on Haute-de-France’s Goodbye Meteor‘s Bandcamp page lists their sound as “immersive and solar post-rock” that’s created for “opening the way for harmony between humans and nature.”
I’m glad they included this, because I was unsure of how to describe their newest album, We Could Have Been Radiant. I knew it wasn’t quite shoegaze, ambient, or psychedelic. It was somehow all three, and yet none of those.
The theme of the album is humanity’s search for something more, and often being disappointed when we find “it” because we realize we had “it” all along here in the present moment.
Opening with “This Is Not Here,” the quartet unleashes soaring guitar sounds that would be appropriate for hang gliding through a mountain range. It awakens you and reminds you that what you think is important right now is probably not that at all. “No Signal” implies the worst nightmare of many in this age of internet addiction and dependence, but the snappy drums and expansive guitar sounds makes you think having no cellphone or computer for a while would be the greatest thing you’ve experienced in a long time.
“Destructuration” builds from a drift through space to flying through a heavy meteor shower by the end. “What Are We Here For?” is the longest track on the album, clocking in just over twelve minutes, and it uses the time to make you sit back and think on things as it creates a sound around you that brings to mind images of spotting a far shore after days lost at sea or the sun finally breaking over the horizon after a seemingly endless night in the dark.
The title track is full of power and also subtlety. It shifts your perspective rather than blow your mind. The album ends with “Phosphenes,” a short track to uplift you on a high note as you consider what’s happening right here and right now.
Did I mention this album (apart from the final track) is instrumental? It’s good stuff, and best heard as one continuous experience. Check it out if you want to change how things appear.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t say goodbye without subscribing.]
[Merci à Laurent de Goodbye Meteor!]
