Artist: Human
Name of the album: Human
Genre: Gothic Rock, Cold Wave
Listening to Human’s first homonym album is like entering a theatre play where you embody a protagonist exploring all the torments that you could experience as a human: driven by the magnificent voice of Franck and the instruments, you navigate on the river of life, which might be sometime long, but surely not quiet.
For “Last Exit Before The Crash”, the powerful and low voice of Franck replenishes the protagonist and transports him, as the perfect choirs, which can be found on the entire album, give even more deepness to the song and the troubles you are in. Caught by the guitar, you’re unable to free yourself until Franck gives you the opportunity to do so, while professing “time to go away”. A door then suddenly opens before you, leading you to “Feeding The Ocean”, where the powerful guitars are accompanied by a synth sounding like an electronic organ, adding a disturbing feeling to the song, and making you feel uncomfortable. Snatched by the bass, you’re drowning into your own anxieties. Then, an unexpected piano enters the song, giving you hope.
In “Quai des Étroits” the synths are reminiscent of the work of Goblin, transporting you in one of those 80s horror movies whose secret is only known by Dario Argento. “The Wheel” is introduced by harder and louder guitars, giving you the feeling that you are eternally caught in the wheel of time, without the possibility of going away and repairing your mistakes. In “Hypnophobia”, you get hypnotised by the dancing rhythms of the bass line, completed by an Arabic melody at the guitar, as if you were the protagonist of a tale from 1001 nights. Beware, if you follow the eloquent guitars, you can be finding yourself doing belly dancing until you suddenly fall at the end of the tune, as the riff stops abruptly. For “Cage The Monster”, the protagonist seems to wake up from this 1001 nights dream, and realises he is still the same tortured human, with his fears, his anxieties, his preoccupations. The sad guitars accompany perfectly Franck’s magnificent voice in what is probably the best tune of the album. And one should ask oneself : don’t we all have a monster in us?
Can an amazing album exist without a ballad? Your soul seems to find some rest with “This Part Of Me”, even the music is happier, softer, like a lullaby of dark music. “Window Pain,” which is also another excellent tune of the album, seems to be an ode to true friendship that never ends, even in death. Strangely, the lyrics are imbued with sadness, but it’s not the case with the powerful and cheerful guitar riffs. Finally, in what seems to be the rockiest song of the album, Franck reminds us of what life is. The protagonist relives through the energetic and driving chorus, until a magnificent conclusion to the song and the album, where the guitars and the synths strike chords in a melody that raises another type of question: will the protagonist be strong enough to live through all this? Then, the sound fades out, leaving you completely mind blew by such an intense beauty, and almost exhausted because of the journey in the meanders of human mind.
You can read an interesting interview with Human on ElektroSpank web magazine.
