Faucheuse: Comme Un Poignard 12"

Faucheuse: Comme Un Poignard 12” (Black Water Records) Bordeaux, France’s Faucheuse follow up their 2024 debut Rêve Électrique with their new album Comme Un Poignard, and this time around Portland’s Black Water Records is on board, making this new album cheaper and more widely available in the US. While Faucheuse is from the same thriving scene as compatriots Bombardement and Phosphore, they take traditional d-beat hardcore to places it’s never been before. Faucheuse refers to their sound as “adult oriented d-beat,” a cheeky name that pokes fun at their musical ambition and their willingness to bend this highly codified genre to their artistic will. But while Faucheuse is a progressive band, I wouldn’t put them in the same category as genre-busting virtuosos like Paintbox and G.A.Z.E. Mostly that’s because of the drumming, which never strays too far from that one beat we all like so much, no matter how deeply the other members indulge their musical ambitions. Rather than Paintbox or G.A.Z.E., I think the latter era of Skitkids is a better comparison for what Faucheuse is doing, i.e. not leaving d-beat behind, but pushing the genre to the limits of what it can contain. And it turns out it can contain quite a bit more than your standard Discharge-inspired riffing and barked vocals. There is some absolutely wild playing on this album, with ridiculously complex, hall-of-mirrors riffing and lengthy soloing. However, I wouldn’t describe it as wanky. Sure, much of what you hear on Comme Un Poignard requires virtuosic levels of skill to perform, but I never get the sense the musicians are showing off. The emphasis, to me, is always on composition rather than performance, with interesting (and often daring!) harmonic, melodic, rhythmic ideas anchoring even the fastest and densest parts. Maybe it sounds like inchoate wanking to the untrained ear, but I’m fascinated by the bass and guitar riffing throughout this entire album... it’s just jam-packed with interesting musical ideas, and I’m constantly tilting my head to the side, thinking “what the fuck are they doing there?” Maybe you need to be a musician to really get it, and you certainly need to listen closely to appreciate it, but if you meet both requirements, I feel certain you’ll find Comme Un Poignard interesting, if not viscerally exciting. And I haven’t even mentioned the vocals yet! As befitting their progressive stance, Faucheuse has a singer who seems oblivious to normal d-beat vocal modes. Sometimes the vocals are shouted in a way that’s consonant with the music’s aggression, but more often they’re sung—often sweetly and kind of gently—gliding serenely over the musical chaos like a gull circling a garbage heap. (I’m not saying Faucheuse’s music is garbage! I’m trying to emphasize the contrast between the frantic aggression of the music and the serenity of the vocals.) Put this all together and you have a band that truly sounds like no other before or since. Given they’re working within one of the most aesthetically conservative genres around, Faucheuse may face resistance in their quest for listeners, but the few, the proud, the hardcore punks with adventurous listening habits, should not miss this one.