On Labyrinthe, (Self-Released) prolific, anonymous, French genre-defying duo Non Serviam lean into their Goth-Noise tendencies with a lo-fi collection of ghostly, ghastly gloom and dread.
Originating as a solo project ten years (or more) ago, it was once they became a duo (and released debut full-length Le Cœur Bat) in 2021 that Non Serviam really got going.
Since then the duo of Void and Moon have been on a prolific tear, putting out one release after another (both as Non Serviam as well as with several side-projects).
A Non Serviam release can feature everything from glitchy electronics, Goth Rock, Black Metal, Noise, Sludge, and Death Metal. There aren’t really any boundaries, but when listening through the band’s catalogue, there is a through-line of grim, trudging anguish, layered in waves of noise and aggression.
Yay.
But really, yay! I love Non Serviam. They are a unique creative force to be treasured.
Labyrinthe is reportedly a tune-up aiming towards the next full-length release. The EP is heavy on the gloomy atmosphere, ominous, industrialised, skuzzy and extremely lo-fi.
Somebody give this band a million euros. Oh to think what they could do with it! Fenriz of Darkthrone would certainly not approve of such sentiment, however, and the lo-fi sound of the EP can certainly be appreciated as it is.
It feels weird to say for such abrasive music, but there is something sexy about Non Serviam, but it’s the sexiness of an alluring cadaver.
“La Morsure du sel (Part I)” has an air of Trip-Hop in its rhythms (something the duo have dabbled in before), with a kind of hushed vocal delivery that brings to mind Holy Money-era Michael Gira (Swans). Alluringly awful.
Certainly, you can never be quite sure what’s coming next. The title track evokes Swans’ Cop (with less punishing percussion and more noise). “L’Apocalypse individuelle” if played acoustically could almost be coffee bar music (in hell) until sudden bursts of noise and drums teetering on the edge of breakbeat burst in and then fall out again. Final track “Putrescine de vie” meanwhile, features some great, distorted bass tones and moments where all the noise falls away, leaving the female vocals to glide through.
Throughout the EP everything is in French, so for all I know the singing, moaning, and narration (like on the opener “Minotaure, minotaure”) could be a shopping channel description of perfume. Almost certainly the lyrical themes will be far more philosophical, existential, and bleak. With music as expressive as this, though, you don’t need to understand the words to feel the spirit.
There they go again, Non Serviam, who knows what they are? Some tortured spirits from the netherworld, recording their pain for the pleasure of others.
Buy the album here:
https://non-serviam.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthe-ep
8 / 10
TOM OSMAN
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https://ghostcultmag.com/tag/tom-osman/