Today we cross over into enemy lines, reviewing the French band “chest.” who are based in Paris. Their new single “Self Sabotage” is an explosive bash of indie-rock and leaves the floodgates wide open for the band to achieve something Henry VIII could only ever wish for (a conquest of France).
“Self Sabotage” opens with a clever little riff that is cushioned with strums of muted guitar strings. For me, this is a nice touch and instantly implies how despite the band are playing what undeniably is a heavy song, they have a sense of musical thoughtfulness which is present in all sections of the track, not just spending 3 and a half minutes mindlessly smashing their instruments as hard as they can.
Sonically, this is again a very solid, though I guess that’s probably expected with 3 of the members being sound engineers. That being said, it takes much more than pressing a few buttons on a desk to make a good song, as the guitar and vocal melodies also compliment each other throughout. “Self Sabotage” is something that really does require your full attention and only builds and builds until it’s abrupt closure. They’re a band who clearly know what they’re doing, despite being together less than a year.
However, for me some of the lyrics are what let this track down. To be fair, I think that the verses have a decent bit to offer, but the main lyric of “There’s a storm in my chest, I get no rest” that echos until the end, doesn’t really hit for me. Considering this line is repeated to the extent of it being something the crowd could potentially begin to sing along to, this line doesn’t feel like something I myself could get behind chanting as it just doesn’t make much sense or seemingly have much relevance to the rest of the song, unless I’m missing something.
Then again, with the band playing to what is most likely a French audience, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to understand these words anyway. So maybe in the grand scheme of things, and considering the current scale of the band, it doesn’t hold the song back all that much.
Overall, this is a really strong and heavy track, with musicians clearly familiar with their craft, yet just a few key lyrics are what set it apart from becoming great for me. Still though, I think Jean Val Jean would have been proud.
FOLLOW “CHEST.” ON INSTAGRAM
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