by Jordan Reyes (@jpreyes90)
Awaiting the apocalypse is exhausting. As of the time of writing, officials have yet to report trumpet sound from the third angel or the crash of the great star Wormwood “on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water” (Rev 8:10), sometimes I seem to mistake a thunderclap for the tuning of a massive horn. What to do? While French singer Fishbach, born Flora Fischbach in Charleville-Mézières, draws her apocalyptic vision from a decidedly less Biblical source, her fascination with a cosmic Irish Goodbye is palpable. Drawing from a disparate range of influences - I can’t help but think of French Cold Wave as played by Benedictine monks - Fishbach paints a portrait of an indifferent universe, fading into a growing void. Before ending the tune by incanting the song’s title, she asks the listener what knowledge they would desire before the collapse. An appropriate send off, and a poignant question. Too bad - of course - knowledge won’t stop the inevitable.
Fishbach's Un Autre Que Moi is out May 19. Fishbach will play New York on Thursday, June 8th at the Lincoln Centre Atrium.