Columba Triste are a band from Lille, France. I discovered their music through their latest EP, but it caught my attention enough to make me track down their maxi EP, released on 12″ vinyl last year as a collaboration between Une Vie Pour Rien, Lada and L’ouie Plere Records. The band plays something that could be described as a mixture of punk, Oi! and, most importantly, coldwave influences. The melancholic atmosphere and darker undertone of the record come not so much from the lyrics themselves, but from the musical lines and vocals. And for me, it works brilliantly.
„Jamais rater une occasion d’être triste“ (Never miss an opportunity to be sad) is one of the lines on the record that stuck in my head, because in a way it perfectly captures the mood and arrangements of these songs. This music is deeply emotional on its own. If I close my eyes and stop paying attention to the lyrics, I find myself somewhere in a mountain cabin, looking through the window at a cold, rainy autumn day outside.
It works on every level. Nothing here feels too obvious or straightforward, and it strongly evokes in me the feeling associated with the Nouvelle Vague of the late 1950s and early 1960s. That sense that it is better to do things your own way and break away from established conventions. Better to burn out trying to resist what society expects from you than to let yourself be dragged through a life you never wanted.
And because this record is so emotional, maybe that feeling is also strengthened by the references to the generation of our parents that appear here and there throughout the record. They leave me thinking that every generation probably has to fight its own version of the same battle. But that’s the emotional side of what I take from this record.
Bands drawing from coldwave – that post-punk atmosphere mixed with punk and Oi! influences – have established themselves as a very strong force in France. You only have to look at bands like Syndrome 81, Rancoeur or Fléau. But Columba Triste don’t simply stick to one formula on this record.
Radikalmentalité is the more punk-driven track, which fits perfectly with its overall attitude. Nique Toujours is musically more melancholic, even though the song itself feels more like an outlet for anger. Allez moves along at a good pace, an atmospheric track with hints of rocksteady influence. On the other hand, Doux Amer is slower and deeply atmospheric. The record then closes with Dans La Vase, with its heavy, powerful chorus contrasting with the slower arrangement of the rest of the song.
If you like bands with a clear, original identity of their own, Columba Triste are exactly what you’re looking for. Inside the booklet you’ll find all the lyrics as well as a long list of thanks. I love discovering something that had completely passed me by and then finding out just how worthwhile it is.
I also know perfectly well that Columba Triste won’t be for everyone. And that’s absolutely fine.
TOP TRACKY: Radikalmentalité, Allez, Dans La Vase
