Listening to Loup Miracle’s new EP, “Back To You”, feels a bit like trying to navigate by stars through a suddenly unfamiliar city. The French outfit, steered by Vincent Leservoisier alongside Paul Douvier and Miguel Romero Sulbaran (with input here from Pierre Szabo and Issara), crafts art rock that’s simultaneously groovy and deeply unsettling. These three songs thrum with the push-and-pull of modern existence – resisting the glittery, hollow calls of fame and status, only to find yourself adrift, compass spinning wildly.
There’s a tangible sense of disorientation woven into the hypnotic soundscapes. One moment, a soulful guitar line offers a hand, the next, intricate, cutting-edge textures suggest walls closing in. It evokes that strange internal friction, wanting desperately to reconnect – pleading, almost – but carrying the weight of that resistance still heavy on your shoulders. You hear the yearning for solid ground, for intimacy, underscored by a pervasive fear of being left utterly alone. It’s the sound of someone turning back towards… something fundamental, maybe. It reminded me, strangely, of the specific smell of damp earth when you rediscover a path long overgrown – familiar, but changed.
The arrangements are emotionally astute, building tension without resorting to histrionics. It captures the complexity perfectly: the seeking of solace paired with a kind of defensive crouch. This isn’t a neat resolution; it’s the knotty, often contradictory, process of trying to find meaning after the world’s noise becomes too much. The plea for acceptance rings true, yet there’s a shadow of ambivalence, a suggestion that letting someone fully in remains the highest hurdle.
Does finding your way back ever mean arriving unchanged? Loup Miracle leaves you turning that question over, long after the intricate sounds fade.
