Naïve – Altra (2015)

Arriving from France, today we have a very interesting and different release titled “Altra” from a band called Naïve. Mixing Progressive Rock/Metal influences with some trip-hop, shoegaze, and tons of electronic elements, they manage to create a very unique and dramatic cinematic experience in this album. Being more of the commercial-friendly spectrum of things, this release is quite mellow and perfectly enjoyable on a rainy day.

Opening with the playful “Elevate/Levitate”, we are instantly treated to a very well put together track that nicely navigates through multiple moods and different soundscapes. With every track featuring soaring vocals and powerful guitars, this French trio has developed a very unique and solid formula to deliver high-quality songs like “Yshbel” and the excellent “Mother Russia” to name a few.

The trip-hop elements are quite well introduced into the mix that if you are mostly a fan of ‘heavy music’, you won’t notice them too much as they mostly set the atmosphere or transition between tempos as you can find them on “Monument Size”. Having a certain Cult of Luna/Sybreed vibe, more experimental tracks like “Surge” and our personal favorite “Waves Will Come” are quite engaging and challenging to the ‘typical’ way of doing things.

Saving one of the best for last, the hypnotic title-track song “Altra” delivers a very hefty dosage of atmospheric brilliance. With some perfect shoegazy/post-rocky moments, this is a very strong closer for an already very impressive release. If you are looking for ‘artsy’ Progressive Rock/Metal with tons of unconventional influences, look no further and pick up a copy of “Altra”. All members of Naïve are very skilled musicians and this instantly shows with the undeniable level of quality in this release.

Label: Persistent Room

Release: March 20th, 2015

Genre: Experimental Progressive Metal/Rock

Country: France