Review Summary: Heavy, loud, distorted, but light on the ears at times.
Ni are one of those bands that always scratches the right itch for people such as I. Before, in their previous releases, there was a distinct jazz influence tied in there. In Les insurgés de Romilly, they forgo that for the most part, and replace it with heavier influences instead. In their first full length, they combine aspects of metal and math rock, among others, to make music that all just flows together, for lack of a better phrase. Every song on this album goes from slow and melodic to heavy but still melodic. But that doesn't mean that they don’t experiment with weird tones and pedals. Somehow, they manage to make the experimentation flow well with the rest of the song. Take Butor, for example. It starts off with a ton of distortion, and then eventually they seamlessly go into weird guitar tones, and you can tell there is some noodling going on. But it strangely all fits. Nothing really feels out of place. There are even elements of screamo sprinkled in there. I feel that the bassist, Benoit Lecomte, does an excellent job. He has the proficiency to keep up with the band, and really stands out when he does some funky and complex basslines, such as in the opener, Bouif. Not to discredit the rest of the band in the slightest, of course. François Mignot does a great job with the few bits of screamo in there, and adds to the intensity the album can get.
Great record for those who are already familiar with avant-grade prog and the brutal prog sub-genre.
Standout tracks are Butor, Marquad, Flaquadin, and Bouif.
