Popcorn Noises

Benoît Pioulard - “Lasted”

This is another one that I’ve already covered extensively and am happy with everything I’ve said, but which is worth revisiting because it’s just that great. The idea that this is music with a secret—its words and meaning wisked away by the windiness implied in the recording—is still foremost in my mind when I listen to it. Because it’s pacing is simple and measured, it seems pensive and honest, but Thomas Meluch’s gentle poise and harmonic richness give it a whitewashed air, like it’s participating in far older traditions of music than folk and pop (I’ve used the word ‘monastic’ before and that still feels very appropriate). Not exactly prim or stuffy—it’s far too organic for that—but ‘proper’ and reverent. There are some great sonic touches hiding in the background, too: percussive ticks and taps, twinges of phased guitar strings, and waves of organ drone that swell and threaten to capsize Meluch’s boat. If indie rock can have hymns, “Lasted” is one of the finest.