French indie rock outfit Silk Skin Lovers — Félix Foucambert (vocals, guitar), Jean-Baptiste Halin (bass, bass synths), Lucas Lerbret (guitar, backing vocals) and London-born Callum Taylor (keys, backing vocals) — emerged into the French music scene with a handful of singles inspired and informed by nightlife revelry.
Their debut EP Bloom expands upon that world with material that bounces between playful delight, to late-night melancholy; the blurring of memories to the brink of sobering up as you head home — or when you arrive home, whichever comes first. While primarily based in magical surrealism, the material does reveal a band that’s also concerned about many of the real issues of our day, including racism and police brutality.
“The first seeds of Bloom were planted in the summer of 2020,” the members of Silk Skin Lovers explain. “As a young and developing band, we found ourselves growing in a context that was harsh and complicated, as opportunities for artists were scarce to non-existent for a period. The EP was a natural response to not only the artistic restraints we were faced with, but the frustration of being away from what we love to do, and further from our aspirations as musicians.”
Bloom‘s latest single, the remarkably Smiths-like “Moon 1AM” is an uptempo bop centered around shimmering guitars, a rapid fire rhythm paired with ethereal harmonies, glistening synth arpeggios, an angular and propulsive bass line and a rousingly anthemic hook. Interestingly, the song is emotionally ambivalent: despite its upbeat and uptempo nature, the song is bittersweet and dreamy rumination that’ll make you dance away your sorrows for a bit.
