Sidilarsen are in fine form: with their previous album, On Va Tous Crever, the band from Toulouse not only showed artistic vigour boosted by a new, more aggressive spirit, but also enjoyed a significant explosion in popularity. After two decades, there's still time to move forward, and it's in this context that Que la Lumère Soit is released, a kind of stylistic follow-up to its predecessor.
The tone of On Va Tous Crever was more pessimistic than usual. With the various events that have afflicted our world in the meantime, one might have imagined that Sidilarsen would be more upbeat and furious than ever. While Que la Lumière Soit does indeed bite harder (the riffs of Intox, Du Sang sur les Fleurs, the demolition ball V(e)mpire), we're also surprised by a certain appeasement. Sidi take a step back and call for calm (Adelphité, On Revient sur Terre), injecting hope and melancholy here and there and inviting us to become aware of our own shortcomings, including themselves in this torn and awkward humanity rather than taking the role of moralizing lecturers. More airy than its predecessor, the album breathes, as a result of the height the band has taken.
But don't be fooled into thinking that Sidi have become Zen masters. While we can detect a growing maturity in their more unifying lyrics, which seek to unite us rather than highlight our divisions, the band hits hard when it counts. The anonymous toxicity of the internet, compared to a cult, the pollution choking the Earth (Amour Océan) or the cult of appearance and the despair of the empty promises of social networks (Inanité) are just some of the reasons to throw out some heartfelt punchlines in the middle of big, square riffs that dust off the influence of Rammstein with youthful energy (the epic "ferme ta gueule" of Intox, the furious snarl of Enfants de la Rage). As well as their ever-improving lyrics and the unwavering harmony between the two singers' voices, it's the rhythm section that Sidilarsen have improved the most recently, gaining in complexity and thrilling heaviness (the arrivals of Sylvain Sarrobert on bass in 2018 and Marvyn Palmeri in 2022 might have something to do with it).
And that, in the end, is the most important thing: Que la Lumière Soit is an irresistibly effective album that grabs the listener by the guts, something that makes you want to blow things up but with a refreshing generosity. Like a good sequel, the album pushes all the buttons of its predecessor. It's both grittier and smarter, more varied, richer and more nuanced. Sidilarsen often play the playful card of self-citation, proof that their universe is well established. Sidilarsen's universe is made up of openness and hybridity, both in their musical form and in their humanist message, of tough-guy posturing with a big heart, of irony and sincerity. Not only is Sidilarsen's universe ever more unifying, but the band is also in fine form. The proof is in the pudding: after a career spanning more than twenty-five years, the band have just released their best album to date, looking resolutely to the future but in tune with the legacy of their past.
