Phèdre – In Decay
“The seeds for Phèdre were sown in an attic, over three late summer nights and hundreds of bottles of cheap wine.”
Well, that’s a nice beginning of a band’s biography, isn’t it? And, to be honest, I think the wine wasn’t too cheap and bewildering because otherwise Phèdre wouldn’t have named themselves after the historic persona of Phèdre who was the daughter of Minos and Pasiphë in the Greek mythology. Furthermore, just to give you a short bushwahnian excursus in historic French literature, Phèdre is a dramatic tragedy which was written by Jean Racine and was first performed in 1677. I suppose you can’t be too drunk and must be quite intellectual if a band name, which was probably created under these circumstances, still makes (lots) of sense.
And, definitely, Phèdre have brains plus a great sense for humor and haunting melodies. Their debut “In decay” (out on daps records) is an intelligent mixture of deeply and moody electronic sounds and characteristic voices – sometimes dark but never dreary. Hard to tell what it really is but anyway, the album caught me from the very first tune. It’s kind of lo-fi and noisy, trashy and uncommon but still pop at it’s best. Maybe it gives you the best idea what it sounds like if you imagine mixing up a Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra duet with some electronic beats and synths. Gorgeous!
Phèdre’s official website
Phèdre on Facebook
