Time Lurker - Emprise (2024)

Much like Time Lurker's eponymous 2017 debut, Emprise is long on transforming atmospherics into something that smacks you straight in the face, not to say it lacks in riffing and intricacy, but these are tools used to contribute bleedingly to the material's dark, streaming vibe. Paired up with the howling, tortured vocals of Mick, which clearly follow in that Burzum vein exclusively, you've got an effort that is best experienced in full when you're seeking out something desperate and transcendent, almost like you were to filter some strain of post rock through a blasting, tremolo picking filter. I think the cover artwork selected for this couldn't be more apt, because it really just feels like your conscience is escaping your pallid corpse to realms dim and hopeless and obscure.

To be clear, there are some fairly catchy licks driving pieces like "Cavalière de feu" and "Poussière mortifère", but they both have their segues of surging spaciousness interwoven with the aggressive, forward momentum. Whether this is just hyper-riffing stretched out into the void while the drums drop out, or a dire acoustic/clean guitar intro, they've got this balance of intensity and calm almost like a yin and yang across the 34 minute runtime. One track, the titular intro, is a pure swell of ambiance with what sounds like subtle vocals and snarls shoved up against some cosmic radiance or engine-humming, and it was appreciably enigmatic and dread-inducing. But despite having a consistent conceptual feel to it, there is actually a decent level of variety to the songwriting. "Disparais, soleil" stands out for being very calm, with slower guitars that ring off into the atmosphere, ethereal female vocals hovering just on the edge of your consciousness, and some nice tribal drumming to bind it all into a trance. They also balance out the faster, cutting stuff with a lot of mid-paced or slogging moments.

The vocals are going to be an acquired taste like other bands that use them, they are very traumatic and might fool an uninitiated listener into thinking they are making some mockery of the style, but they are well implemented here and definitely give you that illusion of being stabbed somewhere out in a wintry waste until the steam rises off your leaking blood. It's not meant to be comfortable, but to convey the pain and emotion of someone lost in the esoteric pocket dimension in which this musician explores. I'm not sure I'd place this quite at the equal of the Time Lurker debut, but it's close, and there are some departments in which this exceeds it...such as emotional impact, melodic grace, and diversity. This continues to be another rich new voice to experience on the French scene with dreadful potential.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://timelurker.bandcamp.com/album/emprise