Champ de Mars Releases “Halloween Leaves”
Inside just a few seconds, Champ de Mars converts a simple swing into something that feels downright revolutionary in the opening bars of their new song “Leaves in Fall,” but as we listen on in its parent album Halloween Leaves, the thrills and chills this track provides aren’t an isolated encounter. Champ de Mars isn’t looking to swing exclusively in this latest release; as proven by the superb “Wedding Dresses and Fancy Watches” and subtle delight “Little Blue Lines,” darkness-tinged pop is the real object of this band’s affection right now. Instead of presenting their surreal tendencies in the same way a lot of their indie peers might have this April, they’re allowing for it to be a mere adornment in Halloween Leaves – the real focal point here is the chemistry of the players.
URL: https://www.champdemars.net/
If we take the song apart and examine its nuts and bolts, “Benders in the Basement” is one of the more melancholic and stunningly personal pieces of material Champ de Mars have branded with their moniker to date. “Monsters in the Kitchen” offers whiplash by comparison, twisting us away from the vulnerabilities of its predecessor with a harmony straight out of another time in indie pop history. There’s no predicting the eroticisms that soon follow in “Leaves in Winter,” but by the time we reach this point in the tracklist, it’s obvious that keeping us guessing on the edge of our seats is half the fun for these guys. Anyone can cut a decent pop record, but to make something this aesthetically provocative – and rock-inspired – in 2024 is worth marveling at.
“Ghosts in the Attic” boasts the sort of assertive guitar part that makes you want to get out of bed early just to race the first few rays of a new day, and best of all, none of its optimism feels forced or even somewhat inorganic which is a bit of a feat coming out of the dark cloud that proceeded this scene’s most recent output. I’ve heard so many different bands drifting further down the rabbit hole in the past year mostly because of their lack of touring, but it seems like surreal culture might have done Champ de Mars a couple of favors in tracks like this one or the hard-hitting potential single “Porch Apologies.” They’re not overthinking anything in this LP, but instead letting the magic flow freely.
Halloween Leaves concludes with a stacked arrangement in “Leaves in Spring” that initially feels a little out of place in this cut-and-dry pop/rock effort, but soon enough, it caps things off with an appropriate dose of clandestine melodic charm. Whether this is your first time listening to Champ de Mars or you’ve been into their music for a minute now, Halloween Leaves is an album that will pull you in close to let go of some of its composers’ deepest secrets. There’s a feeling of exposed emotion and boundless passion behind every one of its beats, and for my money, it’s one of the most uncompromisingly full-bodied outings of its kind to debut in the last few months.
Garth Thomas