There’s a ton of great heavy music coming out of France these days. Enola is one such act. Hailing from Toulouse, they describe themselves as, “Without musical limit and taboo, we explore all dimensions, from the most emotional one to the more violent and aggressive through a modern and coherent post-hardcore.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.
Enola’s first EP is titled The Light Fröm Below. It’s a 36 minute journey full of melody and atmospheric riffing. The vocals travel from spoken words and cleaning singing to heart-wrenching howls and angry shouts. Heavy and fragile, Enola’s style of post-hardcore draws comparisons to Norma Jean, Underoath, and Hopesfall. The Light Fröm Below is beautiful at times and crushing at others. It takes you by the hand and leads you down a path full of joy and despair.
Enola writes long songs, taking their time to let the music develop. The shortest song on the EP is 4:16; the longest is 11:32. The title track starts things off with Steph and Arnaud’s guitars and John’s bass playing a harmony, backed by Seb’s shimmering cymbals. The song builds to a slow crescendo, with Thomas’ vocals coming in strained and heart-felt. The song heads into off-time complexity at the 1:45 mark. Right away we realize that Enola has learned well from their predecessors. One guitar holds down the rhythm with the bass noodling behind it, while the second guitar repeats a perfectly accompanied lead over top of them.
‘A pilot’ follows in the same vein at ‘The light fröm below’. It starts with a marching sort of rhythm, swelling and falling for over seven minutes. ‘The door’ begins with a soft, haunting lead and rolling drums. This track features our first taste of clean singing. The interlude at 3:20 pulled on my soul and sent tingles up my spine. ‘Desolated landscapes’ hits you in the face and doesn’t let up. It’s a frantic pounding that leaves you short of breath. The last track, ‘Fog’, slows down and showcases more of Thomas’ clean singing. That doesn’t last long as the track winds its way through loud and quiet, pulverizing and painful moments.
Enola isn’t breaking new ground on The Light Fröm Below, but I enjoy the distinct flavor they bring to this genre. The production on the EP sounds tinny and hollow at times. I chalk that up to this being the band’s first recording. It doesn’t take away from the well-crafted songs. The bottom line is this: if you like Norma Jean-style post-hardcore, do yourself a favor and pick up Enola’s new EP.
