Take Alcyon in its mythological meaning: a sacred bird with a plaintive song. In the case of Solventis, it's an angelic vision of the past when nature and humans communicated in a close, trusting and benevolent relationship.
Take dark folk in all its variations: sedated music for a certain fringe of the public, but there are many ramifications to this label. To find one's way through this nebula, there are several schools of thought. A sort of Ars Nova, a return to acoustic, ethereal sounds and an infinitely interpretable philosophy. These modern-day troubadours of the backwoods not only celebrate Mother Nature, but also take an introspective look at the soul.
A debut LP, Of Dusk and Dawns, straight out of the plains around Toulouse, announced the band's intentions, which were still in their infancy. But it was with this second album that Solventis found its way, more assertive and more accomplished, with the emphasis on French lyrics. In Toutes Les Lumières, the metaphors Sophie Peyre aka Sol expresses in her seraphic vocals are so clearly understood that you can actually see the film that Melody Morana prints and develops in a map of relief and bluish hues, a twilight shrouded in a whitish veil that is supposed to protect you from the light. Admittedly, you need to get used to the French language again, and Primevère is perhaps the most appropriate title. But it lacks the depth that characterises Solventis outside the New Age sphere.
The mantra Om Namo Narayana, once revisited by Germany's Between in 1974, is reinterpreted here acapella, before Burns takes to the air vocally. Rain Birds is not far from dark folk, with the spiritual dimension linked to nature omnipresent, landscapes, dreams and expansions of the soul. The album closes with Rifts, sown with guitar effects, reverb and tremolo that bring a few tonal variations before a vaguely trip-hop rhythm emerges. Solventis should dig deeper into a more personal field to bring out a darkness that is suggested here but never explicit.
