Unbroken narrative strength
After a ten-year break from recording, one of the most influential Swiss female bands is back: Les Reines Prochaines
Les Reines Prochaines let their 25th anniversary in 2012 pass by without a second thought. At least outwardly. But the musical feminists were already busy. With the preparations for their new album Bloodthe first since 2003, and with the final work on the documentary film Les Reines Prochaines - the movie (director: Claudia Willke), which is about the artistic doings of the collective. In the film, which can be seen in a few Swiss cinemas these days, Muda Mathis, the last remaining co-founder of the formation, says: "Art has to be a risk, otherwise it won't work."
One of the band's original ventures was their dilettantism. Playing instruments? Yes. Mastering instruments? Absolutely not. As a result, their earlier records were simple and yet daringly arranged. Over the years and actually against their will, Les Reines Prochaines have acquired a certain degree of professionalism. This is also because the previously frequently changing line-up has remained in place since the turn of the millennium. New songs such as the Balkan-sounding Sunday Instrumental or Of fennel and sausage, an over-the-top pop number in the style of early Nina Hagen, are if not virtuoso, then skillfully played. Nevertheless, the 21 tracks on Blood anything but standard fare.
This is not least due to the fact that Les Reines Prochaines are about more than just music, namely performance art. Their sources of inspiration are the everyday, the mythological and the physical, pop and folklore or childhood, write the Basel-based group on their website. This manifests itself in weird singing, Dadaist moments, poems about stolen hedges (sic!) or stories about a virus. Les Reines Prochaines continue to surprise. Less through the still minimalist music than through their narrative strength. This is unbroken. Which makes the quartet's lyrics particularly captivating to listen to.
Les Reines Prochaines: Blood. Michèle Fuchs, Fränzi Madörin, Muda Mathis, Sus Zwick. Distribution: www.unrecords.me
