Alcest Deliver Plenty of Warmth, Rance, with “Délivrance”

Just because Alcest have all but abandoned their black metal roots doesn’t mean they’ve all but abandoned their awesomeness.

“Opale,” the first song from Alcest’s new album Shelter — which we heard before the break — was as catchy, if not more so, as anything the band’s ever done, like a slightly darker but no less transcendental Sigur Ros. Coincidentally [or not?], Shelter was produced by Birgir Jón Birgisson, who has worked with Sigur Ros in the past, so there’s more than meets the ear to that comparison.

And now the new new song “Délivrance” follows in that same vein; there is really no metal at all here, and that’s just fine by us. This is music to put on when you’re laying out in the grass on a mild summer day. Or when you’re sitting beside the fireplace in the depths of winter. Same thing, really, as long as you’re relaxed and let the music take you where it takes you.

The track made its premiere yesterday via Noisey and can be streamed below. Shelter comes out on January 21st via Prophecy Productions.