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Pam Risourié unveil their third EP, 'So Be It, Eternity' on 12" vinyl. 

 

The Parisian indie-rockers move away from the twilight dreampop of 'Noctessa' to incorporate coldwave and post-rock elements, while mostly eschewing the sonic heritage of the ’90s in favor of a more contemporary aesthetic. 

One can think of the productions of Beach House for instance, blended with a noisier, dirtier, artsy approach that hinges on the three guitarists in the band. 

Opening track “Holding You as a New Past” is based on a structuring and repetitive pattern. Its architecture evolves and thickens throughout, with interlocking guitars and sound textures moving to a shoegaze-inspired conclusion. 

The ethereal voice, one of Pam Risourié’s signatures, carries the idea of passing time; it questions our ability to start over again, within the embrace of a new past. 

 

The structure of the eponymous single, “So Be It, Eternity,” could sound like a love song, with dreampop vocals in the verses that have a sweet haunting touch. Yet the chorus and its lyrics invite us to somewhere further, in a blurry and expansive space: “All those stars in my veins / flow to the same / galaxy in shrine / and if love is mostly a shame / well, so be it, eternity now”. 

“These Minds” and standout “Dystopian Eyes”, with their luxurious melody and robust bass, bring a heftier depth to this captivating effort. 

 

So Be It, Eternity is released on vinyl by Pyrrhic Victory Recordings (US), Engineer Records (UK), and Lofish Records and Araki Records in France, and also on cassette with Stellar Frequencies. 

 

Blood Makes Noise reviewed it and this is what Sam Lowry had to say;

"All the way from France comes Pam Risourié with a sweet indie pop EP that has been labeled shoegaze but I kind of disagree with that label for this. This sounds like pop with clearly defined verses and choruses that are catchy as hell.

At first I thought right on, this band fits in totally with Claud, Soccer Mommy, Japanese Breakfast and of course the queen herself Phoebe Bridgers, who are taking over the airwaves and the hearts of music fans but alas I was fooled and it is not a female vocal, it is a very sweet mellow boy vocal.

I would put this in a category with Portugal The Man where as upon first listen I was positive I was listening to a soulful female voice.

I suppose the big delay guitar parts in track 1 “Holding You As A New Past” is part of the reason for the mislabeling but I hear so many elements of late 60’s and 70’s pop in these tracks with a hint of shoegaze aesthetic thrown in but not at the core of the songwriting.

I tend to think of these as edgy 70’s AM radio type hits. The term “dreampop” also gets thrown around recently to describe anything angelic and mellow so this definitely fits the bill for that too. Track 3 comes off as a little odd when a very Peter Murphy-ish voice starts the track off but as “Dystopian Eyes” gets into the first few bars of the verse and chorus the familiar lead voice is back but singing in a lower register.

At track 3 the vibe completely changes to a more goth approach, almost a Portishead doing jangly guitar indie pop type vibe.

What I appreciate most about the EP is the band’s ability to change up the sound so easily and write songs that fit under a broad umbrella but fit cohesively together as one unit of songs. The Peter Murphy/ Ian Curtis voice briefly makes a second appearance in track four “These Minds” and it’s an interesting counter vocal to the light airy lead vocals that carry the majority of the release.

The final track has more of a French feel than any of the other tracks and that’s not just because the background is filled with a conversation in French. It feels like a leftover track from the Michel Gondry film “Science Of Sleep” or something along the lines of that.

Overall this is a band with a lot of potential to really hold their own against some of the bigger indie bands that are out there".

 

 

Pam Risourie - So be it, Eternity 12" EP

£14.99Price
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