Ile de Garde Rage Blossom Vinyl LP 2026
Tracklist:
1. Fear the sun
2. Homicide volontaire
3. To Death
4. The Ageless Woman
5. Brithday Girl
6. Boyh
12" EP of fresh French coldwave/synthwave, from the trio Ile de Garde. The name isn't just a clever pun paying homage to the blessed German mystic and jack-of-all-trades, Hildegarde Von Bingen. It's the name chosen by three women freshly signed to Born Bad/Carpaccio Cathedrale, who came bearing gifts: six synth-wave tracks based on a drum/keyboard/spoken word line-up.
More of a narrator than a singer, Klara Coudrais performs the lyrics, embodies characters, and puts on a show, in French and in English. Controlled and clinical anger, putting facts in order, whether it's settling scores with some violent bloke or scrutinize a couple on the path to a breakup...Sylvia Plath meets Diamanda Galas, heckling the audience gently. It sometimes flirts with singing, with reinforcement coming up as backing vocals.
Neither John nor Karen Carpenter, Cecile Auregan layers synths to produce dense, enveloping soundscapes. It's a full starter-main-dessert, but the trio has a strong stomach. Morgane Poulain peacefully taps away at her drums, you want fills and breaks, you got it. Drums have been slightly undermixed to achieve rich colors overall on the EP, nice move.
No-frills post-post punk for your ears, with a few surprises such as the dancefloor banger "To Death".