Culture Uncut Review
Bold, confident, yet with a not too subtle element of shy - this is the first taste we get of Florian LeFevre, the enigmatic yet eccentric frontman of former prog-rock newbies Sonnets & Novellas, who disbanded shortly after their debut album in 2013. And it's not what we would have expected at all. In recent weeks, the unique Frenchman has spoken to Rolling Stone, telling the magazine of the reasons he opted to split from his former bandmates, and from this debut solo offering, it's easy to see his point. Gone is the rather over the top, drug induced post hardcore progressive sound that was as chaotic as it was fun, replaced instead with this mature, exciting and powerful alt-rock song that offers listeners so many different layers, both thematically and musically, that it's never possible to have had enough. You'll almost certainly have hit the repeat button on YouTube at least four or five times before deciding to look elsewhere.
A desire to wow and sound the fanfare of the dramatically different could perhaps be the biggest hurdle that a man like Florian has to encounter in his life. He is a self-confessed artistic high-brow with a desire to make the purest works he can. And that was one of the most disconcerting and distancing factors that troubled Sonnets & Novellas. Their music was so different and unique that it almost alienated vast swathes of its potential audience. It's a temptation that Florian has majestically side-stepped with his debut single though. The lyrics are sweeping and adventurous, mixing notions of love and adventure, while his voice lends itself to the track exquisitely, both haunting and passionate in all the right places, layered and strained in others. The song itself also reeks of adventure, taking a journey through sections of gentle ambience, bouncy rock and haunting acoustic sounds that complement each other in ways that have rarely been explored before. Starting with a quiet, slow picked and echoing guitar section, before transitioning into an upbeat and bouncy verse and a impassioned chorus, the song works in so many ways that most will never have imagined it could. It is one of those "hear it to believe it moments". And for those who do, they certainly won't be disappointed with what they hear.
If there's one massive compliment one could pay this song, is that it sounds as far from a debut single as you'll ever experience. The track oozes a loose confidence so prevalent that you would almost swear you're listening to something penned by an experienced artist with numerous albums under his belt. From the slow, ambient intro, to the foot-tapping verses and the rocking chorus, this will be a song that becomes one of the sounds of 2014 for many people. It may only be February, but Florian LeFevre has set out his marker early doors. And with at least one EP to come from the Frenchman this year (this track is taken from his upcoming debut extended offering "The Florian LeFevre EP Series: Volume 1.0), it's an exciting time to be a fan of accessible rock music. This may be arty and fancy to some, but to others, it will simply be exciting, new and fresh - the injection that the alt-rock scene has needed as we breach a new year and look for a new breakout star. Have we found him? Only time will tell, but Florian LeFevre certainly has a chance of being the name on everyone's lips this year.
Rating: Hear this!For fans of: Coheed and Cambria, Brand New, Against Me!
Artist: Florian LeFevre
Title: The 5AM Conundrum
Genre: Alt-rock
Length: 4:02
Written by: Florian LeFevre
Recorded: Paris, France
Album: The Florian LeFevre EP Series: Volume 1.0
Label: Florian
Florian: "This track is a derivative of a blog I wrote sometime in the past about falling in love for the first time. It explores both the literal and metaphorical journey of meeting someone and realising the importance that they hold in your life and what they offer you. It also, at the same time, looks at the essence of travelling with someone and the things you encounter along the way. I mean, fuck, I guess those are things that don't strictly go together, right? But I didn't just shoe horn them together. This was a track that was born of reality. I fell in love for the first time when I was on tour around...some time ago. This was the first time I had ever seen a foreign country, as well as being the first time I had ever experienced this foreign notion of the importance that someone else had in my life. I saw open roads, horizons and sunsets for the first time while sitting with this wonderful new person, contemplating the spiralling out of control of my life until 5AM, which is where the title is derived from. Why have I decided my first song shall be about this? I think it was important during this exciting new time in my career that I mirror my feelings with a track about the most exciting new time in my life to date. This song is happy and full of life ans wonder. This is much like I feel right at this moment, you see.
"Musically, I can't sit here and say that this is something I am just coming up with now. This sound you are to hear now is a sound that has been inherently 'mine' for as long as I can remember. I know what people will say, that this is so different to my time with the band, but this is really the point, for me. This song is what I have always wanted to do with my music, it is what I was never willing to let other people (my band) be a part of because it is all me and it is everything I want my music to sound like. These big choruses and very different verses and intros....I think this sort of artistic progression, along with my layered voice and differing inflections, will be what I would call my signature, if you will. For me, this is the perfect song with which to kick off my career. Maybe others will not be so happy or optimistic, but this, in my eyes, is 100% Florian, and nothing could sound more like me. S'il vous plaît profiter et laissez-moi savoir ce que vous pensez. Je vis pour votre consommation de mon art."
We saw a shoreline's ghost,
All through the eyes of a timeline,
Floating from coast to coast,
In the mist but we heard through the grapevine,
Gliding from pill to pill,
Risking the wrath of a scythe,
High enough to fight every ill,
And there's no fear when I look in her eye
So when the blood gets boiled!
You keep the beat in your head!
And when our hearts get tired!
You test the water, it's red!
Just left your body and went,
And said we'll sleep when we're dead
You taught me words that no one else could ever learn!Remember the day we met
You know your father scares me
I'm in the rain so wet,
But from your lips, no one can tear me,
There's a silence you bring
But it says more than 1,000 words
Shielded me with your wing
And carried me when you would soar with birds
So when the blood gets boiled!
You keep the beat in your head!
And when our hearts get tired!
You test the water, it's red!
Just left your body and went,
And said we'll sleep when we're dead
You taught me words that no one else could ever learn!So when the blood gets boiled!
You keep the beat in your head!
And when our hearts get tired!
You test the water, it's red!
Just left your body and went,
And said we'll sleep when we're dead
You showed me things that no one else could ever know!I saw a shoreline's birth
Was this an end to our first ride
The stars could show my worth
Brought to the surface what I'd always hide
And when they shined last night
I saw her eyes in their reflection
This fire burns so bright
A dying light can still map our direction
So when the blood gets boiled!
You keep the beat in your head!
And when our hearts get tired!
You test the water, it's red!
Just left your body and went,
And said we'll sleep when we're dead
You taught me words that no one else could ever learn!We watched the sun set low
Through tired eyes so weary
Had nowhere else to go
Words turned so bleak from cheery
You begged not to walk away
You took my hand to lead me
So I don't walks astray
Down this path where no one else could be
Sky....high...with eyes for you!
And I...would die with you
Only you
I'm...skyyyyyy hiiiigh with you
And I'd die for you
Only you
Only you!So when the blood gets boiled!
(I'd diiiiee for you)
You keep the beat in your head!
And when our hearts get tired!
(Only you! Only you..)
You test the water, it's red!
Just left your body and went,
And said we'll sleep when we're dead
(I'd die for you, only you)
You taught me words that no one else could ever learn!Sounds Like:
