"A psychedelic punch to the face with unmistakable French flair"
Some albums don’t just play — they growl, sweat, and breathe fire. Clair Obscur, the latest from Parisian duo Electric Jaguar Baby, sounds like it was forged in the Devil’s own workshop: hot, dirty, and humming with the electricity of pure rock’n’roll. Over twelve tracks, Franck (drums, vocals) and Tony (guitar, vocals) deliver a fuzz-drenched sermon that bridges the desert sun and the midnight basement, equal parts chaos and charisma.
Since forming in 2015, Electric Jaguar Baby have carved their name into the continental fuzz underground. But Clair Obscur is something different — the sound of a band hitting its stride with reckless conviction. Recorded live, it bleeds with honesty and noise, an antidote to over-produced rock. It’s imperfect, and that’s its glory.
“Stray From The Path” eases into a dust-cloud of groove, hypnotic and expansive, before “My Way” revs the punk engine for two minutes of glorious insolence. “Goin Thru The Blue, Part II” hits deeper — tribal drums, shimmering fuzz, and a trance-like pulse that could stretch for miles.
Then comes “Anything”, the record’s quiet heartbeat — fragile, unguarded, a moment where the band lets the tape roll and the ghosts speak. It’s followed by “Winterholidays vs. Fuzzroutine”, a joyous fuzz-rock riot that shakes the walls with grunge-tinged abandon. “Hownow” slides in with a sweaty, funky swagger — garage rock for the body and the bones — before the closer, “The Oswald Cobblespot Complex”, takes us skyward in a storm of feedback and psychedelic glow.
Sonically, "Clair Obscur" feels like a time machine running on gasoline and groove. It smells of old amps, beer-soaked floors, and desert air, yet pulses with modern grit. It’s not nostalgia — it’s resurrection.
Clair Obscur is raw, soulful, and irresistibly human — a fuzz-driven exorcism that proves rock’s heart still beats loud and dirty.
Released By Majestic Mountain Records
-Helge Neumann
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