2026 is the year of the comeback records - Converge, Sunn O))) and of course, Neurosis. We follow the trend and showcase a highlight that means a lot to us, because it’s one of those bands that grew alongside VoS and with whom we have several ties: Today, French Post-Rock darlings where mermaids drown released their new EP Embrace the ineluctable - here are our two-cents!
When VoS was still a wee-little baby (not human like the ones we are having in our midst nowadays), there were several people and scenes that really took a chance on us - Consouling Sounds and dunk! from Ghent and also the bigger part of the Post-scene from Lyon with such amazing bands like alpha du centaure alpha du centaure or Celeste or where mermaids drown. We will forever be grateful and those people have special places in the hearts of Veil of Sound, no matter where they reside on this blue planet of ours, no matter the distance.
No matter the distance - an important point for where mermaids drown and their new EP: Their drummer lives in Japan now and one of the former members left the band and is missed by the remaining three members spread across the globe. These shifts surely make it more difficult to remain a band, but Nello, Jean-Sébastien and Jean-Paul have kept the mermaid from drowning (sorry, but pun intended) and give us three great new tracks with nearly 18 minutes running time.
While we were watching the band grow from their And the winds do blow EP to their debut full-length Reminisce and also featured an interview with them as part of our A Colossal Weekend Special 2023 one thing has always remained clear: where mermaids drown is a band of friends, very close friends - and that connection showed in their songwriting and performances.
To now having to keep that integral part without one of its foundations surely is not an easy thing to do. But the trio have surely achieved the feat. They surely embraced the challenge which is audible for the three songs are light and dance on the airwaves between the speakers and the listener. That is also clear when listening closely to a development in the importance of the keys - now they are more prominent and more frontal than before, most clearly in the final track “Grateful”. Do not mistake this assessment as an indication of less crescendoes - those are still there, just check out the opening track “Resign with Grace” but they need not be the final destination of the tracks, they are one songwriting element from a big toolkit and there a little details that really showcase the skills these three guys have, just notice the little parts in the opener, for example when a dense riff is used as a decoy for the final crescendo-wave.
Negative forces would describe the tracks as somewhat subdued, less hard than before - but to me they are just as elegant and maybe a bit more on the far-reaching cinematic side rather than on the crunchy, pushing one. There definitely more Caspian than before, less Mogwai. Is that a bad development? No, it surely isn’t - especially when we get songs that are so wonderfully constructed and intertwined like these three.
The close proximity of all tracks also shows in the track titles: “Resign with Grace”, “Rebirth. Again.”, “Grateful”. Somewhat sounding like the stages of acceptance for terminally ill patients (who doesn’t remember Homer going through all four within a matter of seconds after having eaten bad sushi?!). In this case the band is obviously talking about the time after their tour in 2023, when Pierrick departed the band and Jean-Sébastien left for Japan. This EP is a wonderful rebirth for which we are very grateful. As grateful as we are for these great guys. And their comeback. 2026 ladies & gentlemen, 2026, the year of (miraculous) comebacks!
