Much like the artwork, the music on Autre Ne Veut’s Body EP is slippery and pulsating, with a large streak of almost fetishist sexual fever running through it. It sounds like pop music run through a collection of filters which both have it sitting more comfortably in other genres, and also morph the music so that anything natural (including the vocals) are far from what they might have been originally. And it makes for engaging material, if not music that’s a little too loose at times.
Comparisons to The Knife are seemingly inevitable but also well placed for the most part. “Just Return” employs screeching and icy synths over a sludgy beat that seems to take cues from both Deep Cuts and Silent Shout while the skewed vocals hammer the comparison home even more. At times it can be hard to tell if it is actually a man singing as his voice wavers to and fro, always keeping you on edge. When She Wolf makes a brief appearance on “Not The One” echoes of Karin Drejar can be heard swirling about during the tracks two minute runtime.
The music is best though when Autre Ne Veut goes beyond the comparisons and makes music that sounds like his own. “Your Clothes” utilizes some snappy and jagged synths to grab the attention of the listener before five seconds of the song have gone by. The track also boats a good vocal performance that sound both sassy and creepy, like what it might sound like if the monsters in all those horror films started singing at you. Lyrically the idea goes further while also driving home that sexual imagery as he sings “I wanna spend a little more time feelin’ just like you,” as he desires to get into the clothes of another person in an attempt to, well, feel just like them. When he sings “I really want it” (putting a smirking emphasis on the “really” that I kind of want to write it in italics) you’re convinced that he really does want to live out his fantasy. Next time you open your wardrobe you probably wouldn’t be as surprised as you normally would be to find someone rooting about in there already.
But it’s not all creepy; there is some great music here. The other strong track that has a better personal stamp on it is opening number “Sweetheart” which marries wavering and effervescent drones with beats that sound like they’re exploding all around (perhaps matching the break-up being described in the lyrics). The EP dips a little in quality though and it’s not as consistent as it could be. Earlier mentioned “Not The One” is a worthy experiment but it feels more like an mildly interesting interlude and wasted opportunity than anything else. After a great self-titled debut last year this EP feels like an interlude in itself. Hopefully another great full-length is waiting around the corner, ready to simultaneously creep out and enthral us.
