Well, we can finally let la chatte out of the bag. French math rock icons Cheval de Frise have just announced a truly epic remaster of their eponymous debut, courtesy of experimental New York label Computer Students. If you weren’t already aware, Cheval de Frise was one of the most idiosyncratic acts of the early 2000’s, letting loose in a way made truly unique to them by their acoustic instrumentation.
The band has always been praised for their relentless, but highly meticulous attack, and who better than beloved Carl Saff to make sure not an ounce of it was lost in translation for the remaster? The reissues will also feature some recovered artwork concepts that were floating around back in the day but never ended up being used, which we’re actually pretty excited about.
We can’t tell you how excited we are to be the ones who get to say this: check out the English Language Exclusive of “Connexion monstrueuse entre un objet et son image” below.
Computer Students were also kind enough to supply their own blurb to make sure we got all the details. You can tell they really get it, which makes the whole project even more exciting. Sure, labels handle reissues all the time, but labels as enthusiastic as the fans of the bands themselves? That’s where the magic happens with these kinds of things:
Cheval de frise is the first eponymous album by french amplified classical guitar/drums duo Cheval de frise. This outstanding and one of a kind recording was originally released in 2000 on CD format via Bordeaux based label Sonore and it is now reissued and pressed for the first time to vinyl, cassette tape and digital… The release contains the original track list remastered by Carl Saff as well as uncovered artwork supplements. It will be released worldwide on November 18, 2022. Urgent, emotional and paradoxically structured and thought out in the finest detail, Cheval de frise’s music drew much of its influences from the many forms of American post-hardcore of the 90s, while manifesting its own undeniable singularity from the start. A music made of shadows, explosive nuances, precise gestures, kaleidoscopic patterns and spasms.
Being that the band was essentially a two-piece, you can really hear the audiophile level of attention that went into balancing Bonvalet’s frenetic guitar tones with Beysselance’s punctuated drum work. Carl Saff is one of the most prolific and eclectic engineers of the 21st century, working on original and revised masters on everything from the latest Elder and KEN Mode to classics from Fu Manchu, The Dead Boys, and Sleep.
Also, for those of you out there who like to get physical, Cheval de Frise and Computer Students have got you covered. Click on the link in the italicized outro for pre-orders of all kinds, and though as of press time we’re not sure which images they’re going to select, we’ve seen them, and we are, of course, very impressed. Between Cheval de Frise, June of 44, Drill for Absentee, and a handful of others, the turn of the century is truly poised to make an incredible comeback twenty years later, and we’re getting emotional just thinking about it.
Check of the pre-order link here – Computer Students have put just as much effort into the physical processing of the album as it’s musical aspects, and it’s a pretty impressive feat. The photos of the tapes and vinyl that we saw were stunningly detailed and exhibited a level of quality rarely observed in what we often refer as math rock. Speaking of referring to something often, if you want to congratulate us, buy us a coffee here – and make it a French roast ;)