Its album number nineteen for Erang! A release that arrives with a drastic stylistic shift, the first to truly shed the Dungeon Synth and Fantasy origins. Heading for a new adventure in the realms of electronic nostalgia, the pallet of instruments migrates to buzz saws, sine waves and all manor of oscillating synths to house a familiar sense of composition and melody. Initially starting out with a chirpy and upbeat vibes of childhood wonder, Machine Humanoïde reels the mood in towards familiar darkly Synthwave vibes of Anti Future and Songs Of Scars for just a few tracks. Its presentation and promotion, all conducted in native French, plays into the albums narration, a mischievous voice narrating the twists and turns that come about with each song. Of course as linguistic illiterate, this is just my interpretation.
With a more familiar middle, its start and end sections jostle melodies in such a predictable way that I almost want to abstain from opinion. The shift in pallet doesn't drift far enough for a surprise. Being this deep into the French musicians discography, there is little that of the chord progressions, arpeggios and general notation that feels fresh or unexpected. The production style also leaves little out of focus. With all its instruments and percussion crisp and clear, the textures of big bustling old-school synth waves overpower the focus and rather quickly does it overstay its welcome. Its a nostalgic affair for old school synth and early electronic music with spacey overtones. It doesn't always click when dealing with and aesthetic heard many times before.
That being said, Erang always has vision and intent. Emotion is ripe and present as one feels the realm they carve out for themselves. For me, C'était Demain and Demain Les Mondes ride the basics a little to hard on bare bones compositions where as L'avenir Et La Mer and Passage land the ending well scenic and soundscape alike compositions weaving between the melody led strides. Ultimately I've enjoyed Prisonnier Du Rêve for being what I like about this musician but the artistic stride for something new and different feels only knee deep this time around.
Rating: 5/10