Photo: Lynn Thiesen

Francis of Delirium swirl together anger and guilt on the torrential rocker “Red”

Luxembourg-based duo Francis of Delirium have a new EP called Wading coming out next month, and we’ve already heard the excellent singles from it “Lakes” and “Let It All Go” – now made into a trio of treats by today’s new offering “Red”. On the new song, Jana Bahrich says:

“Red is the pushing away of someone and justifying it with your anger rather than rationally discussing your feelings. It’s believing something you thought to be true and then that being switched. It’s the loss of trust in a relationship. You’re left angry and confused, unsure of yourself, or who to trust. Instead of communicating effectively, you start to push away, preemptively moving into isolation as a defence mechanism to stop yourself from more hurt.

Simultaneously the song challenges the goodness I see in myself, as a good friend, someone filled with love is gone, which distances you from this idea of yourself even further. So you’re pushing away someone else and pushing away a version of yourself you enjoy.“

This veritably potent set of feelings described in Bahrich’s quote is brought to bear on “Red”, which continues the catharsis of “Let It All Go”, again reaching a point of acceptance but taking a rollicking route to get there. Breakneck guitars and percussion animate her dive through moments of pain and lost trust, while she describes them in fast-paced lyricism, breathlessly singing at speed as if she desperately needs to unburden herself of it all but doesn’t want to dwell in this awful feeling of betrayal. Francis of Delirium have the ability to pile on all these heavy emotions and still make a song that moves with thrilling dynamics, their precise instrumental choices and detailed production giving the singer the perfect platform to show off her vocal prowess while tackling these challenging topics.

Bahrich made the animated video for “Red” herself – watch it below.

Francis of Delirium’s Wading EP comes out on April 9 via Dalliance Recordings. You can find the band on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.