You feel it too, don’t you?
Nihilistic bête noire
Lay at my feet
With gaping maw
In the haunting experimental track Bête Noire, Belfast musical and visual artist Louise Patricia Crane plunges deep into the murky waters of the soul, where tension hangs heavy and shadows stretch long. The song captures the eerie echoes of Danielle Dax, Nine Inch Nails, and Chelsea Wolfe, painting the atmosphere with blood-stained strokes that recall Giallo soundtracks and the unsettling vibes of horror film scores. Given Crane’s deep-rooted love for classic horror, it’s no surprise that this dark obsession seeps into her music, casting a sinister spell.
Bête Noire showcases the full scope of Crane’s artistic ambition, unraveling with an unsettling elegance. Written and recorded during a particularly stormy period in her life, it stands as the darkest, most intoxicating track on the release. Composed in her home studio, a year into the creation of her sophomore album, Crane handles nearly every musical duty herself, enlisting Megatron Bison (Solemn Novena) to embody the hedonistic “black beast” with haunting backing vocals.
“Bête Noire is one the most significant songs on the album,” Crane proclaims. “When I started composing it, it took over and sort of grabbed hold of me; it captures a moment in time that’s for sure…It’s about embracing hedonism and fully giving oneself over to those forces that ultimately cause you pain, welcoming them in.”
The lyrics dive deep into a dark, nihilistic bond between two souls, tethered by shared despair and a taste for destruction. The speaker’s intent is clear—ignore the red flags, embrace the darkness, and find a twisted kind of solace in each other’s arms. It’s a bleak outlook, yet beneath the shadows, there’s a flicker of warmth, a longing for closeness that hints at a troubled, yet undeniable connection.
In the DIY video below, Crane seductively dances into the camera, pulling you into her world. It’s a raw, unfiltered glimpse into the depths of a relationship where comfort and chaos go hand in hand, and where the darkness is as inviting as it is dangerous.
“I began writing Bête Noire when I had been playing around with adding new guitar effects patches; an evocative sound can take something in its own direction,” Crane explains. “…I programmed up the drumsand overlaid them with atmospheric synths, embellishing with strings and piano parts I’d recently written, but had yet to use in a song. After adding extra percussion, I recorded acoustic guitar and 12-string acoustic, along with ebow on the electric that I reversed on the intro and later, at the crescendo. I wanted it to sound chaotic, the intensity building and building, to a climax. Until the ending, the calm after the storm. The album opens with the words “my love whispers from her grave”, and this final moment that closes out Bête Noire is like that lover you’ve missed, softly welcoming you in to her open embrace. Lulling you off to sleep, from the other side. Like a siren’s song.”
Listen to the song below and order the album here.
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