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PRICE:
$15.50
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Cheval de Frise
FORMAT
Cassette

LABEL
CATALOG #
CS 006CS CS 006CS
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
12/30/2022

Cassette version. Reissue, originally released in 2000. A "cheval de frise" is a military defensive structure. It is the alias under which Thomas Bonvalet and Vincent Beysselance formed their duo, creating anxious, agitated music with perpetually changing, almost Baroque, patterns. Urgent, emotional, and paradoxically structured and thought out in the finest detail, it drew much of its influences from the many forms of '90s American post-hardcore, while being undeniably singular. The formation was instrumental and the bass was abandoned for an amplified classical guitar, giving them their signature sound. In a French musical landscape where rock and guitar music did not thrill much anymore, Cheval de Frise came as a surprise. After a few demos, the band released their first eponymous album in 2000 on Sonore, a label based in Bordeaux. It was well received, allowing Cheval de Frise to tour all over Europe. Their second album, Fresques sur les parois secrètes du crâne, was recorded in 2002. The band split in 2004 leaving their mini album La Lame du Mat to be released later. Around the world, many instrumental, energetic, fast and complex bands would emerge in the following years, usually labeled as "math rock". But the unique color of Cheval de Frise remained, marked by a certain anachronistic romanticism. Remastered by Carl Saff, Cheval de Frise is reissued on New York label Computer Students.