The only FrenchMargaritawe’ve ever encountered, this doomy Parisian trio with the unlikely moniker offers up unexpected twists—musical and otherwise—at every turn on its debut six-track full-length, Abysses of Melancholia. This sludgy offering is performed by a trio of women—Karen Verdier-Désérable (guitar/vocals), Julie Appéré (bass/vocals/synth), Julie Picard (drums/SPD)—who channel the retro doom of female fronted acts like Blood Ceremony, as well as the grungy skronk of Babes in Toyland and early Hole. It’s moody, melancholic and crushing, taking the vibe from haunting to frightening over the course of nearly 40 minutes.
Abysses of Melancholia was recorded and mixed by Stéphane Miollan, with mastering performed by Guillaume Brot at Seeding Waves Studio. It’s set for release on vinyl and digitally via Electric Valley Records on October 9. Place your preorder here.
The band offered this description of its new album:
“From ‘Blood Incantation,’ where pain becomes a means of expression, to the hazy and melancholic ‘Melting Days,’ the album explores loss on both personal and universal levels. Figures appear and fade: a lonely man, a disappearing self, memories of those who are no longer there.
“Themes of abandonment and refusal run through the record. ‘Not a Mother’ rejects imposed roles and inherited expectations, questioning identities shaped by absence and anger. ‘Abyssal Pain’ turns violence and resentment into a kind of epiphany, where destruction becomes a form of control.
“‘The album closes with ‘Better Off Alone,’ settling into a quieter form of solitude and the weight of unspoken wounds.”
