Pencey Sloe - Don't Believe, Watch Out (2019)

With "Don't Believe, Watch Out," Pencey Sloe unroll a rather distinct carpet of weightless guitars and ethereal singing onto a familiar foundation of shoegaze and dream pop. It is the first full-length of the Parisian trio around charismatic front woman Diane Pellotieri, which seemingly came out of nowhere in 2017 and are set to make it far. Pencey Sloe are exceptional for their ability to marry enchantingly intricate harmonies to an angelic voice, all propelled by an addictively straightforward rhythm section. Thus, their tunes become sonic chiaroscuros - cutely bright on the surface, acutely dark below like the shadow side of our psyche. As it happened during songwriting, the band indeed put up "an empty canvas that turned into a weird musical self-portrait" of it's front woman. "Recording our music was an emotional experience for me that I can't put into words; actually I don't even know if want to it was a fluent feeling I will have to experience again." In Alcest's Stéphane "Neige" Paut, the trio already has a big fan, who "discovered Pencey Sloe when they released their EP and instantly fell in love with their dark, ethereal sound. I think they are one of the most promising French bands, and their music will surely appeal to fans of Slowdive, Low or Chelsea Wolfe." "Don't Believe, Watch Out" was recorded at Drudenhaus Studio (Alcest, Les Discrets) and is out on September 27th as CD and LP (black or red).