Indiana-based two-piece The Heavy Co. will issue their new single Shelter on Sept. 18. One doesn’t hear all that often from the Lafayette, Indiana, two-piece, but it seems to me that if you’ve got Isaiah Mitchell of Earthless and Golden Void and general Lord of Guitar-ness fame contributing a solo to a track, well, that’s probably worth putting together a release of some sort. The three-minute song is the second new offering the band has had since reconfiguring as the duo of guitarist/vocalist Ian Daniel and drummer Jeff Kaleth, arriving behind April’s “Phoenix” single (posted here), which arrived concurrent to a compilation of material from the band’s original run during 2008-2014. They’ve since also put out a live track from a gig in 2014, but in terms of new music, it’s just been “Phoenix” and now “Shelter,” which, if you’re paying attention, would be enough for a 7″ or even a cassingle if they were feeling snazzy and wanted to put the art by Ohio-based artist Chad Wells to work.

Whatever they end up doing with it in terms of a physical pressing, if anything, “Shelter” isn’t the first time The Heavy Co. have flirted with country influences by a longshot, but Daniel‘s vocals here — backed with low-mixed harmonies by Tom Dean — really underscore the point. The track unfolds across a void-of-pretense three-minute stretch, rolling easily and smoothly through its initial verses before giving over its last minute to Mitchell‘s solo. There seem to be two layers of guitar working there, and I’m not sure if that’s Daniel adding his own accompanying lead track or if Mitchell can just magically play two guitars at the same time — you’d have to believe it, given the breadth of his work — but one way or the other, it’s an organic fit with the produced-in-lockdown single, which would seem to derive its title more from “shelter in place” than “Gimme Shelter” or any other such usage. Fair enough for the times in which it was made, which were these times, which are hard times. You take shelter where you can get it.

Now then. With the official release a week out, here’s the premiere of “Shelter” for your streaming perusal. Some more info follows as sent along by the band.

Please enjoy:

The Heavy Co. – Shelter (Ft. Isaiah Mitchell)

Produced by: THC
Guitar Solo : Isaiah Mitchell
Extra Vocals: Tom Dean
Mastered by: Ed Littman
Artwork by: Chad Wells

Released: September 18, 2020
DPR Records
Indianapolis, IN

The Heavy Co. is the long running Neo-Psychedelic Stoner Rock studio project of Ian Daniel and Jeff Kaleth. Their latest single, Shelter, features a blistering solo from Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless, Black Crowes).

Recorded remotely in their private studios, this is the first track THC has released in the isolation caused by Covid 19. The title is a direct reflection of the situation, contrasting with the theme of internal and external exploration of reality.

Please tune in…

The Heavy Company on Facebook

The Heavy Company on Bandcamp

There’s a point at which an artist has to decide why and for whom he or she creates, and for French post-black metal innovators Alcest, that point seems to have been during the recording of their 2012 full-length, Les Voyages de l’Âme (review here). As guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist, founder and principle songwriter Stéphane “Neige” Paut recalls, it was during this time that he began to feel as though he was playing to routine, making music more to please his fans and to meet expectations than to answer the call of his own creativity. If there was any question where Neige might end up on that issue, certainly the band’s fourth album, Shelter (review here), puts them to rest.

Released through Prophecy Productions and recorded in Iceland by Birgir Jón Birgisson (Sigur Rós), Shelter maintains the emotional core that’s been at the center of Alcest‘s approach since their groundbreaking 2007 debut, Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde. What’s changed is the context in which that signature element arrives. Shelter dispatches with most (not all) of the band’s black metal influence, Neige and drummer Jean “Winterhalter” Deflandre opting instead to shift their focus to a dreamy, bright melodicism which has always been there in Alcest‘s sound, but has never come to the fore in the way it does now, post-intro album opener “Opale” working quickly to establish a new clean, clear tonal foundation that songs like “L’Éveil des Muses” and “Voix Sereines” build on with the band’s signature shoegazing adventurousness.

One could easily argue that adventurousness has never been more prominent in Alcest‘s approach than it is on Shelter, both in terms of departing from what they’d established as their “norm” to unknown aesthetic ground, and in more obvious factors like choosing an English word for the title and bringing Slowdive‘s Neil Halstead to sing lead on “Away,” one of the album’s most central melodic washes. I spoke to Neige about these things and more prior to Alcest beginning a European tour with Hexvessel that wraps up this week in support of Shelter. He was both conscious of the changes in his band’s sound and of Shelter‘s potential to alienate some of their following, but resigned in having to do what he had to do to keep the band going. As much as it was one, his choice clearly had been made.

Please find the Q&A enclosed after the jump, and enjoy:

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Shelter, the fourth album by Parisian post-black metal outfit Alcest, is a project of discovery. The narrative (blessings and peace upon it) has it that the band — comprised in its studio incarnation of guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, vocalist and principal songwriter Stéphane “Neige” Paut and drummer Jean “Winterhalter” Deflandre — grew tired of the aesthetic that, arguably, reached its peak with their third album, Les Voyages de l’Âme (review here), and that in recording, the sense was that they were playing to what was expected of them. Performance over passion. There are many acts who go for a long time playing to formula, and as one whose debut, 2007’s Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde, is considered a founding document of the style of post-black metal, Alcest would be well within their rights to do just that. But an essential part of what has made Alcest such a special entity over the course of the last seven years has been the creative drive of Neige in crafting the material, and that’s never stopped. The second outing, 2010’s Écailles de Lune (semi-review here), was an outgrowth of the first and the third and outgrowth of the second, so when it comes to Alcest hitting that moment in any creative process where the sense is that one has pushed an idea as far as it can go, going into Shelter — which is released through Prophecy Productions — they either could have rehashed ideas or completely shifted their approach. They’ve obviously chosen the latter. Recorded at Sundlaugin Studio in Iceland with producer Birgir Jón Birgisson (Sigur Rós) at the helm, the eight tracks/46 minutes of Shelter are aiming for something else entirely in their sound, and something that has very little to do with metal, blackened or otherwise.

There will be some, I suppose, who will find themselves alienated by the lack of the occasional screaming payoff or squibbly guitar/blastbeat section, and it’s true that the dynamic between Alcest‘s nostalgic wash of melody and that darker sonic touch was a huge part of what makes their work to date so pivotal, but really, was anyone listening to Alcest just because they were heavy? It’s not like they were ever trying to be the loudest band in the world. Their sound, even in its most blistering moments, always tapped into a sentimental, wistful emotionality — aggression has never been their trade — so even though early cuts like “Opale” and “La Nuit Marche avec Moi” present a somewhat different sonic palette, Alcest are less entirely recreating themselves than dropping what felt to them like dead tonal weight. Accordingly, Shelter soars, and from the cascading echoes of the introductory “Wings,” that seems to be the very idea. “Opale” takes off at a joyous run, and neither Neige nor Winterhalter look back from then. Wisps of lead guitar drive forward and the waves of melody are intact, but there’s no darkness to “Opale,” and in that, it both immediately works against what one might expect going into Shelter who thought they were getting a direct follow-up to Les Voyages de l’Âme and sets the tone of for the rest of the tracks to come, which by and large are shorter as well, with half of the album hovering on either side of the five-minute mark while “Wings” is shorter, “Voix Sereines” and “L’Eveil des Muses” are longer and the album rounds out with the 10-minute highlight “Délivrance,” which is as encompassing as anything residing in Alcest‘s back catalog. “Voix Sereines” follows the slightly moodier “La Nuit Marche avec Moi,” which opens gorgeously to half-time drums and echoing guitar runs, with Shelter‘s most wistful moment yet, building from surprisingly minimal quiet to a memorable instrumental progression that’s as patient as it is affecting, capping in a wash not tonally weighted bu emotionally resonant enough to justify the linearity that brought it about, effects, distortion and Winterhalter‘s punctuating snare retreating at the end to let a trail of echoing vocal and synth lead into “L’Eveil des Muses.”

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I take no small amount of comfort in knowing that some of Winter 2014’s darkest, coldest hours will have Alcest‘s sweet melodies to provide warmth. Recently off a co-headlining US tour with Anathema, the French post-black metal forerunners will issue their fourth album, Shelter, through Prophecy Productions, with distribution through Dismanic/eOne, on Jan. 21. The album will be the follow-up to 2012’s Les Voyages de l’Âme (review here), which boasted some of Alcest‘s most gorgeous and complex material yet. As the band apparently traveled to Iceland to record Shelter, some interesting changes may be in store. I look forward to finding out how they manifest.

The PR wire sends word:

French dream-pop exemplars ALCEST issuing 4th release in U.S.

Shelter is the fourth release from latterday French Dream-pop exemplars Alcest.  The album  is the result of a long journey into vast new creative terrain . Mastermind and multi-instrumentalist Neige and drummer Winterhalter pile up the thick, layered cloud banks of multiple guitars and of classic Shoegazery and blend it with the sweet melodicism of pioneering post-punk Brits like the Cocteau Twins, as well as epic, soundtrack-like melodies and prog-leaning song structures. Shelter is being released by Prophecy Productions, distributed by Dismanic/eOne January 21, 2014.

Shelter features guest appearances from Slowdive’s Neil Halstead (lead vocals on “Away”), Billie Lindahl from Sweden’s Promise And The Monster’s and Amiina’s strings sections. The album was recorded at Sundlaugin Studio, Iceland, with Sigur Rós producer Birgir Jón Birgisson.

The title of the album, “Shelter,” describes its concept. These songs are about shelter as a safe place that allows everybody to escape reality for an instant, to reunite with what we really are, deep down. Neige’s own escape was to the sea, and all the songs here were inspired by and dedicated to it.

Alcest was founded in the year 2000, and via with releases such as Le Secret(2005) and Souvenirs d’un autre monde (2007) virtually created the post Black Metal  Shoegaze/Black Metal  “Blackgaze“ genre. Over the years,  Alcest helped make this style surprisingly popular around the world and continue to be its foremost proponents. Since 2010, Alcest have toured Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.  In 2012, they released Les Voyages De L’Ame which saw remarkable worldwide sales, landed them on magazine covers and BBC sessions.

As they’ve evolved, Alcest have left behind most of their Metal influences and with the help of Sigur Rós producer Birgir Jón Birgisson have wrought a markedly light and ethereal sound on Shelter.

www.alcest-music.com

Alcest, Les Voyages de l’Âme (2012)