French Coldwavers Urge Herald the Darkness in Their Video for “In Tenebris”

I’ve heard that God is gone

Trying to make it to the next day

Hold tight, see you in the next world

From the bleak heart of France’s coldwave resurgence, Urge rises. Featuring an ensemble drawn from the fractured brilliance of bands such as M83, Bruit ≤, and the chaotic ferocity of Plebeian Grandstand. Their new single, In Tenebris, is a harbinger of the full album Here/After, which arrives on November 15, 2024.

In Tenebris feels like a half-forgotten memory, where hope and despair circle one another in uneasy proximity, as if they were doomed to meet. The song draws its lifeblood from the jagged pulse of post-punk and the stark chill of coldwave, fusing together searing guitars and aching synths that vibrate with a sense of desolation. Adrien Broué’s voice—fragile yet forceful—drifts through the storm of sound, steeped in a haunting vulnerability. His words hover like a bitter wind, carrying the weight of lost beliefs and whispered promises.

In Tenebris plunges into the bitter terrain where memory and self-deception collide, where the past clings like smoke, refusing to vanish into the void. It conjures a world abandoned by its gods, where survival itself is an act of rebellion. Reverb-heavy guitars and brooding rhythms paint a scene of sharp contrasts, light barely flickering through thick darkness. The song unspools with a raw reflection on the collapse of beliefs, the tireless search for meaning in the void. There’s no easy redemption here, only the relentless push to claw through the dark, even as it closes in. We hear similarities to Depeche Mode, Clan of Xymox, and even a faint hint of The Smiths in their sound.

Under Adrien Broué’s direction, the video unfolds through barren, desolate scenes, teetering between the real and the unreal. The imagery lingers like relics of a forgotten world, stubbornly holding on as they crumble. Urge drifts through these forsaken spaces, their faces half-concealed in dim light, their eyes carrying a grim resolve. It’s a search for meaning in hollow ruins, where belief has withered and only endurance remains. The stark settings echo with a quiet urgency for the human will to press on, long after faith has slipped away into the silence.

Watch the video for “In Tenebris” below:

Urge’s forthcoming album, Here/After, is out on November 15th. Listen to In Tenebris below and order the album here.

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