Band members: Sébastien Mathieu (guitar) Sébastien Usel (vocals) Ludovic Favro (bass) Nicolas Millo (drums)
Previous Releases – “Démo” (2013) / “Extended Play” (2014) / “Devil’s Complaint” single (2016) / “Extended Play 2” (2016) / “Whiskey” single (2017)
Loosely stated, this is an all-out, balls to the wall party band borne from a mutual violent-love of beer as the band cites in their description of how it got started. According to that, Mathieu decides to go back to ‘scratch’ and sets up a group. Within a short time, with a lot of people and a violent love for beer, so is born POSTE 942. With thick, slippery riffs, the band merges the blues, stoner, a little grunge, elements of old-school punk and even some southern rock flavors here, complete with an ORANGE ™ amp sound straight from the banks of the Caramy, via means of the factory in Atlanta, Georgia. While this may sound like an extreme mixture of some elements that would not necessarily blend well, the concoction we are offered with this, the first official full-length release, is sweeter than the coolest southern tea with ALL of the kick of pure Tennessee whiskey over fresh-cracked ice and as we drink it in, we know we’re going to need more…a LOT more!!
Picture from the Making of Music Video ‘Whiskey’
Thirteen tracks clocking in at 39+ minutes, these songs do indeed cover the gamut of all elements mentioned and there is not a sleeper in the bunch. Listing their influences as ranging from AC/DC to NIRVANA, from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE to FAITH NO MORE and even going from PEARL JAM to PANTERA. These guys have no qualms about saluting their favorites and putting their own stamp on it at the same time, a hard thing for so many bands to do anymore. From ‘Color Of Red’ with an opening drum line that sounds straight out of MONTROSE‘s ‘Rock Candy’ before the pick slide down the guitar neck that marks the beginning of this tale of “Not love I see…” that rolls heavy and even to the ‘jangly opening guitar of ‘Devil’s Complaint’ with the lyrics of “What you need or you feel in this world of pain, all your gods and your dreams will not wash this rain.” The stage is set for this grunge sounding, stoner romp that is complete with an under-modulated guitar tone for the end section that will tickle the rock-fan in us all.
‘49.3’ begins with an engine rev before Usel’s vocal roars out with a fury equal to that 8-cylinder growl we started with and meet again halfway through and then roars past us at the end. ‘Punky Booster’ is true to the name with this pure-punk edged track, where ‘Grace’ is a slower-paced rocker that you can’t help but move to with it’s catchy hook before the pummeling drums and thunderous bass are back in your face with fills and heaviness galore showing they are a tight portion of this program and provide the perfect vehicle for ‘Seb and Seb’ to do their thing individually, while remaining cohesive in delivery.
‘Pigs In Paradise’ starts off with what could be any southern rock intro with it’s clean-ish guitar tone and tempo until the 1-minute mark when that stoner-feel hits back before we flow into that clean-ish guitar again, all under-flowing with Usel’s words. ‘Lonely Day’ is just busting with a SOUNDGARDEN vs FNM mentality and will rip your face off with the heavy as fuck melody and this off time cymbal tap that rings out in it’s half-muted glory. ‘Breathe’ is another faster romp that keeps it moving fast and hard.
‘Psycho Love’ Pts I & II did make me think of PANTERA‘s ‘Suicide Note’ pt I & II in that the structure is eerily similar, again I believe, in respect to an idol, and the vocal is clear and ringing over a beautiful acoustic progression that fits the mood and tempo perfectly and provoked images of standing with arms spread wide open in revealing from within with a sonic solo that makes your feet almost leave the ground following each note, and when pt-II hits the ground running, with a bass line deep and dark and brooding as those guitar notes keep calling out before the multi layer vocal signals the darkness gathering before the staccato guitar takes over the melody and the rage explodes into the mic again. Pure brilliance in arrangement and execution.
Standout track on this album for ME, and probably my favorite from these guys so far into their career, would have to be ‘Whiskey’. From the first notes, I felt like I was in somebody’s backyard down home here in the Southern USA listening to some good ole boys jamming and slamming away under the hanging branches swaying in a summer breeze while sipping some ‘shine and chasing that with some good ole Jack Daniels and when the bagpipes came in, all AC/DC-KORN in tone/feel, it was a perfect fit, each member given their three-second-solo bit at the bridge, and then back to the Southern-Slam this song is. Like I had stated earlier, I can not get enough of this one, and there is no slaking this ‘thirst’, even while I am drinking it down, in any other manner but to play it again and even LOUDER!!
Taking their time and fine-tuning each song to get to this point and using some stellar production values, POSTE 942 is ready to rise up and shine. Get this album the second you can, play it repeatedly for anyone you can, support them live if they come anywhere near you and keep it LOUD!!
