Live and Destroy LP: Votre Amour est Mon Dieu

“Minuit Machine, a synth wave band based in Paris, is the association of Hélène de Thoury’s electronic melodies and Amandine Stioui’s vocals. The project was born in September 2013. The sound of the French duo, based on powerful electronic drums and the accumulation of dark synth lines, is a mix between all their inspirations that range from minimal wave to electronic rock.” You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/minuitmachine/timeline.

I learned of this band through Soir Zine's plans to publish an interview. Amandine's voice is andric, and her performance on Live and Destroy is rounded, full and soaring, with a gentle emotionality. Hélène chose an interesting sonic range for the texture of the keys. This LP, released in October 2014, bleeds out the deepest colored sanguine. Its pulse changes often, taking a shot of adrenaline one minute then slowing down to a phlegmatic cadence. Upon first listen, the album sounded too similar amongst its songs. However, I noticed they are all subtly different, although with Hélène's characteristic progression of dark and brooding chords. Profound, full of sonic and lyrical depth, the melodies throughout subtly shift and change to give each song its own character but similar effeminate, damaged spirit. This is perfect music for dancing in the shadows. I purchased a signed vinyl copy from Desire Records, autographed in silver. The color of the disc is a beautiful marbled black, resembling an iris, with a white halo in the center. The signed copies are probably all out by now, but you can still purchase a physical copy on https://www.facebook.com/pages/desire/249426295197 or a digital copy on http://minuitmachine.bandcamp.com/.

The cover reads "Hope you enjoy! Helene" and "Much love, Amandine". The vinyl copies also come with a digital download code.

I have a bit to say about each track, so I will provide a one-by-one commentary. The ladies posted the full lyrics to Live and Destroy on Facebook, so here is the link to that: https://www.facebook.com/notes/minuit-machine/live-destroy-lyrics/834449993263614 .

1. Love is God: A soaring, profound track to start the wounded, considerably downtempo Side A. Some words can be mistaken for other words, but being that Minuit Machine tends toward ambience, the fact that Amandine's vocals sometimes get lost in the sound adds another dimension to the meaning of the actual and misheard lyrics. I heard “Save me from my sins” and

"Your love is God
I was just a pagan
Makes me wanna hope
I will never fall again..."

2. Ego: A song anchored by deep tones that sound like rattling metal pipes, against graceful, airy keys. It chronicles a dialogue between two people, the narrator of the song talking to the other with punitive, arrogant language, befitting the song’s title. One has to wonder if the attitude behind these words is more defensive than aggressive.

“You’re just a fraud

I was your ego

Don’t wanna be your dog

Don’t wanna make you proud…

You want me… Unwant me

You love me… Unlove me...”

3. Comedown: The pacing of this song demonstrates a pushing and pulling between lethargic and urgent force, even within the lyrics of desperate craving. Synths dart back and forth like lasers. Two wills battle within the mind, and this song is like an anthem to rejuvenate those fighting who are exhausted.

“Daylight, don’t leave me hanging

I’m innocent, why don’t you kill me now?”

4. Trauma: Amandine's vocals glide and echo over dark glistening synths like shadows passing over forms. A calmer tempo with shuffling sounds of percussion, the melodies slink around in the dark. The lyrics embody bitter regret and dismay regarding someone. The narrator wishes she was numb, but the musicality of this track - and the entire record for that matter - to differ.

“As I lay in my bed

I wish I could feel pain

But I stay wide awake

With this hole in my head…”

5. Midnight Love: One of my favorite songs off the record. Grandiose, throbbing and imposing, it uses subtle wailing melodies throughout that recall sirens. The narrator gently coaxes someone close to stop resisting and to let her win over their will. Her voice rings out and is swallowed up by the melancholic instruments.

"Follow me love into the light
Forget the day, embrace the night
Just one more ride before the dark
I’ll take you home before midnight..."

6. Alienation: Side B is considerably more urgent and impending overall. Amandine chants and wails out this simple hook throughout the song, on top of organ-like synths, giving the song a bellowing vampiric atmosphere. Slightly more rapid but in the same strain as Comedown, the latter being the more melodic of the two.

" I was lost out of space
Floating out of myself
Falling into the air
Stranger in my own head..."

7. Ghost: This is lyrically my favorite track, moreso because the concept of the song has to do with ideas I'm pursuing in my own art. Amandine sings this one with a tender, subdued, desperate passion for the object of her affection. Melodically it is similar to Midnight Love, but not as commanding. The pre-chorus and chorus are memorable and ripe with emotionality.

"Don’t push me away, I just wanna stay
Promise I’ll let you sleep, you won’t know that I’m here
Promise I’ll let you breathe, I just wanna be close
I will not smell your skin, I will be like a ghost..."

8. Sabotage: With a similar hasty desperate spirit as Ego, it reminds me of a spy movie for some reason. The song could be discussing sabotage in the sense of someone sabotaging one's own happiness or what's best for them.

"What is it that makes you want
To go back to that place
When you were wandering around
Searching for your fate?...”

9. Toi et Moi n'existe Plus: A sizzling, deliberate track that stomps through the dull siren-like synths. This is the only song on the album with lyrics spoken rather than sung in French. I have always been fascinated with the way French translates into English, so I will provide a translation (which may sound a little clumsy with the verb tenses, but I tried to fix it from Google Translate. That’s part of the charm of the translation, to me).

"Dimanche, 6 heures du matin/Sunday, six a.m.
La nuit s’achève et j’me sens pas bien/The night ends and I’m not feeling well
Mes souvenirs n’ont plus aucun sens/My memories no longer have any meaning
Enfin je réalise les conséquences.../Finally I realize(d) the consequences…”

10. Apologies: With slightly more elaborate percussion filling the spaces and leaving some, this is a heartfelt song about repenting to someone the narrator has hurt when she had not been acting like herself. This song explores the disowning between the old and new selves, if there is indeed a difference.

"Bring me back, out of sight
I have lost track of time
Please don’t ask me why
I know I’ve caused so much pain
I was losing my head
But I’m back again..."

11. Agoraphobia: If this sounds familiar, it’s from their EP Blue Moon (available on their Bandcamp), and the songs on Side B are more similar to this EP than anything else. This track compiles the general theme of the album: identity, losing it and finding it, all catalyzed by relational disaster, most likely of romantic nature. I can tie this back to Love is God: there is the declaration of worshiping someone’s love toward her, then the rest of the album follows the emotional downfall due to the failure of her god, ending with Agoraphobia's comparison of old and new self as well.

"Now I’m afraid I can never be whole again
I try to face it but it’s starting all over again
I used to love being surrounded by the crowd
I used to hate the smooth comfort of my bed..."

Even if some of the songs sound too similar to each other and even if lyrical content becomes repetitive, it doesn't have to be a problem because the overall sonic character of the album is just so pleasant and deliciously dark to listen to. I can personally relate to the conceptual premise of this album, and if anyone else can, one can appreciate this lovely coldwave release.