Novelists FR - C’est La Vie Album Review

Review by Brady Cloven

Novelists FR have released their 3rd album, C’est La Vie, and it is clear that the Parisians have been spending their time since their 2017 release of Noir doing much more than touring with big names like Being as an Ocean. With a balanced mix of djenty riffs, prog-metal, and technical prowess C’est La Vie is a breath of fresh air into a genre that is more often than not incredibly stale. With nine atmospheric tracks, there are sure to be some favorites. Right off the bat, Somebody Else showers you in those delicious djenty riffs and melodies that swim in and out of the trademark clean/unclean vocals.

Deep Blue shows off just how gifted Florestan is on the guitar. One of my favorite aspects of this album is the vocal work and how the cleans and uncleans are not kept so separate but are used to complement each other as they are done with this track. The chorus is one of the best I have heard in a while and this track is one of the best on the album. Lily is definitely new territory for the band as the song opens with rap-style spoken lyrics that transition into the soft, ambient clean vocals that lull you before the screams come crashing in. The cleans shine through here and although the opening is a bit different, I’m always happy to see bands try something new. For fans of older Novelists songs, Modern Slave is the djent-masterpiece sure to satisfy. Nasty riffs and screams are instantaneous and there’s a darkness riddled throughout the whole song. Once again, the atmospheric aspect of the album is on full display here.

C’est La Vie takes a softer approach and features some strong clean melodies and grooving baselines. The additional vocals courtesy of Camille Contreras are another new and unexpected feature the band introduces, but it is much appreciated and serves the song extremely well. Head Rush plunges us back into the heaviness, but still give the cleans and uncleans that cut in and out of each other as if they are fighting for total domination. Kings of Ignorance is the first song on the album to not start with a riff and instead uses some fun synth that never fully leaves but lurks in the background as the bouncy riffs resurface. The last minute of this track features Florent Salfati and goes HARD. Rain is another ambient song that shows off the almost magical guitar work of Florestan and should not be ignored in search of harder songs. The final track, Human Condition, is a great closer as it slightly increases the pace while adding more aggression to the screams and drums. There’s a break from the rage as we have one last taste of the guitar work that makes this whole thing work so well.

Although it is not groundbreaking, this album is far from recycled or stale. It is an album which proves that this band will not just be a passing phase. C’est La Vie is a consistent and honed sound that is sure to be on my list of top albums for this year.