Francis Giauque, writer and poet, lived a brutal and tragically short life. French post-punk outfit VARSOVIE pays homage to the fallen wordsmith with the compelling L’Ombre et la Nuit.
The title of the song, translating to “the shade and the night,” alludes to the last poetry collection of Giauque. The lyrics examine the haunting movements of a contemporary character, between idle wandering and his final dance against a backdrop of flashbacks and nocturnal scenes.
The accompanying video clip is the first in which the band has appeared in over fifteen years, following Kissa Kouprine and Magnitizdat. It was shot during the lockdown in the cellar where the duo behind the outfit, Arnault Destal (drums, lyrics) and Grégory Catherine (vocals, guitars) have created most of their songs since the band’s inception in 2005.
L’Ombre et la Nuit is personal and dark. The hushed, spoken word French lyrics in the title track are delivered on a tight, nervous, melancholic line, reformulating the vertigo of modern time through emblematic figures, crepuscular atmospheres, and intimate crisis. The track has the sensuality of Serge Gainsbourg with the gothic 60’s tinges of Jacques Brel and Lee Hazlewood, a throwback to poetic songwriting with a macabre flair.
Watch the video below:
L’Ombre et la Nuit is the third single taken from VARSOVIE’s fourth album, L’Ombre et la Nuit, which will be released on May, 21th, 2021 by Icy Cold Records.
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