YLVA DE LUNE (DEU) – I, 2021 🇬🇧
Evil tongues say that music is mortally wounded and that there is nothing new on the current scene that can catch our attention. It is true that we live in an era in which we are exposed to a huge catalog of styles, bands, and projects, and it can make us lose track of new sounds or even forget the ones we have been listening to for a long time.
I think that what they say is not true and I think that we must adapt to the new times. It’s hard to keep up with so much stimulus but it will always be better than living on nostalgia or tributes and, for that reason, I’ve always thrown myself into writing about new projects.
I is the debut album by the German band YLVA DE LUNE, formed by Ylva, German singer and composer, together with Alpha, a musician who they say has been active since 1998 but who I’ve had trouble finding a trace of no matter how much I’ve researched (if anyone has information about, I’d be delighted to receive it).
Their musical proposal is based on slow and simple rhythms without too many adornments that accompany Ylva‘s voice sounding ethereal and wrapped by guitar melodies adorned with effects far from distortion and very much in line with the style they defend.
Not all the time do they wallow in musical melancholy and calm, they also leave room for double drums that do not break the harmony or the sweetness of the notes they sound. This work exudes blackgaze in each bar of the six tracks that make it up, and the post-rock passages that open «Les Ombres du monde» confirm the musical line they have.
YLVA DE LUNE is a child of confinement, born in the summer of 2020, and their first album was released last year. I was released by Soundage productions one of the oldest Russian metal labels and to read that they are still active is surprising to have such sad news about what is going on in those parts with the record labels. On the band’s Bandcamp you can read that the digipack edition is sold out but I’m not sure if it’s because of the same thing that happens with Solitude or because of the reception it has had (I prefer to think about the latter).
The first track they recorded, as a trial by fire at first contact, was «By the sea» and the final result led them to continue the adventure of creating a full album. Ylva is a classically trained musician who was not planning to sing in a serious way, but Alpha, the other part of YLVA DE LUNE, convinced her to do so after hearing her voice. Ylva took care of the lyrics, in which they tell us about nature in all its splendor, and the vocals, while Alpha did the composition, recording, and production.
For an album cooked under the DIY philosophy, I think it has a good sound and the result is quite acceptable since it doesn’t have great complications of textures or layers of instruments. I think this work is highly recommended for all of us who like the sounds close to ALCEST, CULT OF LUNA and I hope we don’t have to go through another pandemic to listen to new songs by YLVA DE LUNE.
Translated by Irene López.
