Sand

Album review

An airy voice, a controlled nonchalance, somewhere between indie rock and offbeat pop tinged with electronica: the Belgians of Balthazar are stepping onto the same stage, into the same club, as Tame Impala or Mac DeMarco. They lead us into these shifting, moving sands with a mean elegance. The two leading lights of the group, Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez, impressed a growing audience in 2019 with Fever, four years after a hiatus during which they set off on solo adventures (Warhaus for Devoldere, J. Bernardt for Deprez). Sand, released in 2021, smoothly picks up where its predecessor left off. The sustained rhythm on Moment, the first track, is criss-crossed by brass, and the languor of the vocals, lead and backing, soulfully intone "free your mind, free your mind". This first track sets the tone for the rest of the album, with a warmer, soulful spirit, as on On A Roll, or the dark and sensual I Want You. We also hear the addition of some brass instruments, here a saxophone, there some tropical percussion... There are points where one imagines a 21st century Bryan Ferry, in the close, muggy atmosphere of the soundscapes and this phrasing that lingers and wanders... Take, for example, the cheerful Hourglass, warmed up again by black choirs. The nods to Mac DeMarco become a little heavy-handed perhaps on You Won't Come Around and Leaving Antwerp, with their little synthetic melodies. And then there's the matter of the cover that depicts an alien monster, which certainly makes an impression, but hardly fits the atmosphere of the album. It's offbeat: offbeat is the key word for Balthazar! © Yan Céh/Qobuz