Album Review: Francis Of Delirium - 'Lighthouse'
As one of the loudest voices in a relatively quiet country, Francis of Delirium aka Bachrich Bachrich is pricking up ears worldwide with her crashing alt-rock. Now, with her debut album Lighthouse finally out, she looks set to become a mainstay of the indie music scene.
Prior to the album release, Bachrich stacked up three acclaimed EPs and simultaneously made a name for herself as a goldmine of crushing tracks. With Lighthouse Bahrich seems to seek the calm in the storm. Knuckling down to embrace vulnerability, and with it expanding her sound to include more pop-rock aesthetics.
Bachrich is a bit of a global citizen – having lived in countries from Germany, Switzerland and Canada before settling down in tiny Luxembourg. While the teeny country is not known for being an epicentre of arts and culture, perhaps Bahrich is on the precipice of helping change that as she pricks up ears worldwide.
Speaking on the budding music scene in Luxembourg Bachrich says: “20 years ago there were almost no venues in the country at all. The music scene here is very young. There aren’t really any labels, managers or booking agents based here. Growing up there was no youth culture in Luxembourg, it’s a place where young people leave once they’re able. Any bands that did come out of Luxembourg would have to go and gig in Belgium and France, but now it feels like something is starting to change and a real music scene is starting to take shape.”
Evidently, the early music scene is paramount to the building of culture in an area. Bachrich’s comments feel particularly apt at a time when indie music venues across the UK have recently been forced to close up. With the loss of these spaces, a whole realm of upcoming talent will have nowhere to hone their live performance skills.
Alongside the announcement of the album release, Francis of Delirium is going on a tour across Europe, visiting some of the UK’s best small venues such as London’s OSLO and Brighton’s Hope & Ruin.
Throughout Lighthouse’s eleven tracks, Bachrich embraces her ability to bare it all. The album sees her focus her energies on celebrating the beautiful things of the world, from reminiscing on being 17 and in love for the first time to learning how to be more open.
Lighthouse opens with the magnificently beguiling ‘Ballet Dancers (Never Love Again)’ in which
Fairytale-esque melodies are juxtaposed with thrashing, gravelly guitars in Bachrich’s signature powerhouse musicality.
Lighthouse continues to revel in fragility with previously released track ‘Real Love’. Here Bachrich switches from explosive emotion to mellow heartbreak as she recounts the breakdown of a relationship. ‘Real Love’ and ‘First Touch’ are particularly cinematic tracks as she spins an imaginative world for her listeners. With her lyricism, Bachrich zooms in on the little details of love, perfectly encapsulating the all-encompassing sense of early love.
From the opening chiming chords, ‘Blue Tuesday’ is the kind of song where the first listen has you turning up the volume and checking your phone screen to take note of the title. Fizzing with energy, crashing cymbals and an infectious guitar melody, it's an electric zap of a track.
Following this, the track list takes a slight departure from heavier rock, pivoting towards the tender. Far from being despondent however, Bachrich is more confident than ever in her ability to lay it all bare and turn her hand to a lighter instrumental.
Arguably the most heart wrenching of the offerings on the album, ‘Starts To End’ sees Bachrich at her most vulnerable as she explores the moment of realisation that a relationship is coming to its end. But, before we are able to sink too far into our musings, Bacrich pulls it back with the intriguingly uplifting ‘Alone Tonight’. With the longest intro on the album, it's like the song is gearing up for the swirl of thoughts and anxieties that are about to be unleashed: “all the worrying does is clog all up the love but I worry all the same”. The tune is a breath of fresh air, pure catharsis is found between the swiftly spoken raw verses and airy chorus. Here we get a real sense of the duality and turmoil of Bahrich’s inner monologue.
Lighthouse really does have all the trappings of an instant classic indie record, and solidifies Bacrich’s status as an alternative gem. Lighthouse closes out with three resounding tracks in which Bachrich returns to her powerhouse vocal and slamming guitars. In the final track ‘Give It Back To Me’, crystalline vocals haunt above thudding kickdrums and gently rolling guitar melodies. An entirely dreamy song; hazy and smoky and like a knife to the heart of anyone who's ever been heart broken. Finishing out with Bachrich’s hums as the song fades, the silence at the end of the record feels like the slate has been washed clean. Stunning.
Offering some words on the inspiration behind the album, Bachrich says: “For this album, hope is the prevailing feeling I'm left with after making it and listening to it. The idea is that there is this light guiding you out into a space where you can be more open and accepting of love and joy. Even as you gain or lose love, it never really goes away; it just transforms itself, moving into other relationships with you”.
Taken as a whole, the album is an extremely assured body of work. Deftly moving through the phases of relationships with a sense of purpose and direction. A mean feat given the trials and tribulations of navigating love and all that comes with it.
Through her lyricism, and the catharsis of a crushing crescendo, listeners may well feel the hope that Bachrich feels herself - or at the very least, the comfort that as we all navigate the muddy waters of this thing called living, there is someone out there able to make a mirror out of the murkiness.
Words by Ella McLaren
