#eidetic

Meluch has been working in this vein under his Benoit Pioulard moniker for the last 15 years or so, and he drifts back and forth between instrumental and vocal-led releases. Eidetic offers a pleasing balance of both styles. Though they’re kept to a few minutes each, immersive instrumentals such as “Margaret Murie” and “Where To” feel like they could drift on indefinitely. In contrast, galloping guitar-led tracks such as “Thursday Night” inject a slightly manic early-Animal Collective energy, like being shaken from staring listless at a campfire and swept into a stirring, clapping sing-along. The true outlier is “The Void,” a breezy, beachy sway that momentarily puts one in mind of the retro British summertime sounds of Cliff Richards and the Shadows. Quite a shift from the shadowy, mossy, forest vibes of the rest of the record, but it works. 

After 45 minutes, when Eidetic draws to a close in a blur of tape hiss and bird song, it feels like waking from a dream. Though the album title refers to being able to recall specific mental images in detail, the hazy ambiguity of Benoit Pioulard’s music leaves the listener in a pleasingly disoriented daze.