Forêt Endormie
Étire dans le ciel vide
Pretty Purgatory
Taking a break from his night job building jagged walls of distortion for the atmospheric black-metal band Falls of Rauros, Jordan Guerette has found a new way to indulge his penchant for methodical, naturalistic epics. Last October the guitarist and composer’s new band, Forêt Endormie, released its debut LP, pursuing a form of experimental chamber music that connects the dots between minimalist classical suites and droning black-metal dirges. Both styles require the restraint necessary to build tension, and the talent necessary to provide release. Employing cello, violin and vibraphone, Forêt Endormie toes this line with somber grace. This is patient music that doesn’t require patience to appreciate. The melodies mesmerize like a walk through a sleepy, enchanted forest; it’s the photonegative of Rauros’ dark and stormy nights. (To put this in terms the Tolkien-inspired Guerette may appreciate, he’s left Mirkwood for a vacation in Lothlórien.) Étire dans le ciel vide translates to “stretch into the empty sky,” and on tracks like “Meditations on Disquiet” it almost feels like we can follow that call to action. Guerette opens with a stately riff that unfurls quietly. When the cello and piano join in, our guards are down, and we can’t help it. We’re looking up.
— Joe Sweeney
Forêt Endormie plays Geno’s (625 Congress St., Portland) on Fri., Feb. 9.