The group Lysistrata in concert on May 8 at Rockstore, in Montpellier: prepare for a huge slap in the face!

Le power-trio charentais Lysistrata s'inscrit dans une double tradition sonique qui va de Fugazzi à At The Drive-In, en passant par Les Thugs. Emilija Milusauskaite

A French rock revelation a decade ago, the sensational Charente trio Lysistrata is making a resounding return with their third album “Veil” and a tour which stops this Wednesday, May 8 at Rockstore, in Montpellier.

On the musical scale of the present time which, like an insatiable Chronos, demands always more novelties to devour more and more, four years without publishing an album amounts to eternal rest. Which is a dematerialization of music that is a little too definitive for our taste, especially when it comes to a talent as rare and stunning as Lysistrata! But may the Pyschotic Monks, MNNQS, Johnny Mafia and other Slift exploded in the meantime keep him a place in the exclusive club of the best current rock groups in France, because Lystrata is finally back!

Originally from Saintes (Charentes), the trio formed by Ben Amos Cooper (drums, vocals), Theo Guéneau (guitar) and Max Roy (bass), then not even 75 years old between them, returned the French rock scene in 2017 with The Thread, a fantastic first album, drawing its English-speaking inspiration from the most noisy styles of contemporary rock (math rock, post-hardcore , post-rock, noise, emo…) to develop their music, both personal and referential, fresh and virtuoso, angry and defoulatory.

Two years later, Lystrata confirmed with Breathe In/out, a new bomb to make their American elders from At The Drive-In jealous, which we can't help but think about (and that's a huge compliment!). And then… And then the pandemic, the worst power outage in the history of rock’n’roll… And then…

Four years of silence

Actually, no, not four years of silence but four more years of experience in the singular and plural. Thus, in 2022, our three fireworks friends signed under the pseudonym Park, a remarkable homonymous album, in collaboration with Frànçois and The Atlas Mountains, merging the best of their respective worlds, the abrasive energy and the rsquo;poetic adventure, sonic chaos and pop elegance…

It goes without saying that there's something left on Veil, the trio's third album released on March 1st on the & rsquo;excellent Bordeaux label Vicious Circle. Lysistrata now allows itself an almost unplugged, nirvanesque melancholy and a new form of melodic sophistication but we can rest assured that it remains capable of the most dazzling explosions of rage. You have been warned!

In concert Wednesday May 8, at Rockstore, 20 rue de Verdun, Montpellier. Not to be missed in the opening act, the excellent Montpellier post-grunge band Noisy Loons. 15.80 €. 04 67 06 80 00.  I subscribe to read more