A welcome return for Lescop, an artist whose debut album was one of this blog's favourites when it was released on Pop Noire a couple of years ago.
The track Echo emerges in July, and it shows his continued poetic exploration of an apparently bleak new wave environment.
It's an epic piece of work and I can't wait to hear more new material.
Lescop is in the middle of a series of live dates across France until the end of the year, and plays at La Cigale in Paris on November 18 as part of the Les Inrocks festival.
An announcement today of the shortlist for this year's Hyundai Mercury Music Prize, and while most of the attention goes to the inclusion of David Bowie's final album Blackstar, it was the inclusion of the album Adore Life by Savages that got our ears up.
They're a London based four piece, which no doubt gets them their place in the Mercury prize's UK and Ireland focused shortlist, but it's the presence of singer Jehnny Beth - or Camille Berthomier as her family knew her - that particularly interests us.
She was or course previously the singer with much-loved French indie duo John and Jehn who released two albums before becoming involved in Savages. John and Jehn founded the Pop Noire label, which has also released material by Lescop, whose video for La Foret was directed by Jehn.
Johnny Hostile, the other half of the duo, produced both Adore Life and their debut album Silence yourself . That collection was released to massive acclaim in 2013, reaching the top 20 of the UK album charts. Like Adore Life, it was shorlisted for the Mercury Prize.
Last year the Mercury Prize was won by Benjamin Clementine, a London-born artist who lives in France. This year hopefully it will be won by a band featuring a French songer who lives in London.
Great to see a new video by the band Savages, for the track Husband.
The London-based band is led by French singer Jehnny Beth (Camille Berthomier), one of the founders of the Pop Noire label.
To these ears there are elements of late 70s post punk, but also something of PJ Harvey's early work in the song.
Both these ingredients are very good things indeed to have in a song.
The song features on their album Silence Yourself, which has been nominated for this year's Mercury Prize, a UK award for the best album of the year.
Savages certainly deserve the attention that the nomination will attract, and while they might be outsiders to win the award - they're up against the likes of David Bowie and teh Arctic Monkeys - it's entirely possible the judges will decide that the award should go to a new act rather than to one of the old guard.
We can certainly hope so anyway, they certainly deserve it.
Great to see the band Savages making the shortlist for this year's Mercury Music Prize award.
Their are shortlisted for the best album for their debut Silence Yourself which was released in May this year.
While up against some big names, with David Bowie and Arctic Monkeys the favourites, the London-based band led by Jehnny Beth (Camille Berthomier) would be a fine choice.
Jehnny has already been involved in music, with the act John & Jehn who released two albums, their self-titled debut in 2008 and the album Time for the Devil in 2010.
The pair are also founders of the Pop Noire label in 2011, who have released material by Lescop as well as Savages and Johnny Hostile, the other half or John and Jehn.
However, it is with Savages that Jehn has found both commercial and critical success, and whether or not Savages win the award, a French singer getting onto the shortlist for best album from the UK and Ireland is no small achievement.
As I mentioned earlier this year, Lescop's debut album is to get a UK release, and the date of its release has been confirmed as June 3.
It was one of my favourite releases of last year, and it's wonderful to see it getting some attention in the UK. While he's played dates over here before, hopefully the release of the album will lead to more shows on this side of the channel.
In the meantime, a video for the track La Nuit Americaine has emerged. The video was initially geographically restricted on youtube, but I'm pleased to get the chance to see it outside France and certainly worth the wait.
The video - more a short film - was directed by Sylvie Verheyde from an original idea by Mathieu Lescop.
Sylvie Verheyde has also directed a number of films, including 1997's un Frère which starred Emma de Caunes in a César-winning role, Princesses , Stella and 2011's Confession of a Child of the Century which starred Pete Doherty.
The video certainly puts Lescop's music in an appropriate dramatic context, and I'm sure its the kin do fthing we'll be seeing more of in the future.
I've written before about Lescop, one of my favourite new acts that I discovered last year.
His self-titled debut album came out in October, and I've featured videos for both the tracks La Forêt and Marlène.
So I'm particularly pleased to see the album getting a release in the UK, and another show in the UK later this week.
I didn't get round to listing an album of the year at the end of 2012. I was uncertain who was deserving of the honour, but I reckon that Lescop was the album of 2012 for the Vive le Roq blog.
Hopefully the Victoires de la Musique awards will note this distinction when the decide who deserves the Best Original Song award, with lescop shortlisted for La Forêt alongside Camille, Sexion d’assaut and Marc Lavoine.
Hopefully 2013 will be the year that Lescop gets the attention he deserves and becomes the star that he deserves to be.
Lescop plays in London this week, with a show at Birthdays in Stoke Newington on Thursday night. Fingers crossed we'll see more of him over the next 12 months.
Repeated listening to the collection reveals its full cinematic qualities, caverous and haunted but with a driving urgent quality.
Lescop's previous musical outing with Asyl saw him explore the more art-informed end of the punk spectrum, simultaneously earthy and literate, in the interzone where Iggy Pop meets Dostoyevsky.
A new release well worth highlighting today, with the debut album by Lescop coming out on Pop Noire records.
While hailing from La Rochelle, Lescop was as influenced by the sounds of Manchester as he was by the French music scene.
As a teenager he was fascinated by Joy Division as well as acts like the Buzzcocks, going on to sing with the band Asyl before embarking on his current solo career.
Asyl, formed in '95, released four albums. With their musical roots in the art-informed end of punk, new wave and post-punk as well as the likes of David Bowie, particularly in his Berlin phase.
Lescop's solo album develops the ideas that Asyl played with, and delivers a sophisticated modern pop, with depth and intelligence.
While many electro acts simply recycle the pop sensibilities of the 1980s, the grittier side of the genre, from Suicide to Soft Cell, is often overlooked. Few capture the potential of the genre, with its tension or urgency. Worth remembering too that the original Goth punk scene of the mid to late 80s was as much influenced by the likes of Joy Division as it was by acts like the Sister of Mercy or Bauhaus.
Lescop is however not just a subcultural archaeologist, mining a rich seam forgotten by much of the mainstream. While aware of the 80s underground and the music that influenced it, he's making something entirely new. Some of the ingredients might be familiar, but the recipe is something unexpected.
A new version of the video of La Foret is expected to appear shortly.
A welcome return for Lescop, an artist whose debut album was one of this blog's favourites when it was released on Pop Noire a couple of years ago.
