Scanning the releases as of 8th November 2024, I ran into a very interesting new album by an artist from Luxembourg. Florence Besch is releasing her sophomore album Gathering Hearts on that day. I had a listen into the ten songs by the indie-pop artist.
Florence Besch – About The Artist
Florence Besch is calling her own music style dream grunge. The sound of the artist from Luxembourg is a mixture of shoegaze elements, indie-rock rhythms and dream pop elements. Originally from Esch/Alzette, she is nowadays living in Dusseldorf in Germany. She released her debut album Hi Now Hello in March 2024.
Florence Besch – Gathering Hearts – Track by Track
The ten track album lasts 29 minutes.
1. Nightsong
Five of the songs of Gathering Hearts have already been released beforehand, Nightsong is one of them. The unique blending of genres by Florence Besch can already be nicely illustrated by this opener. The striking dream pop atmosphere is beautifully meeting indie and rock elements, leading to a really cool listen.
2. Gathering Hearts
The second track of the album is the title track. The riffs and the rhythm spread a pop-rock feeling right from the beginning. The gentleness of Besch’s voice is then also adding some ease and coziness. Nice listen.
Gathering hearts, growing my skin
Collecting sparks of who we have been
3. Love Me Truly
I’m a human
Hear me out
Love me truly
Every part
Love Me Truly is pleading for love. The song is nicely mixing some melancholy with a romantic touch, on top of the indie character of the track. Nice one!
4. Hibernation
Having the chance to stand still and relax in a hectic and stressful world – that’s the topic of Hibernation. It is hard not to think about Patty Smith while listening to this one. Again, it is the atmosphere of the song, which makes it stay in your mind.
5. Eternal Life
Being released in mid-October 2024, Eternal Life has been the most recent single before the album. Florence Besch states I’m in love with love and We already cracked eternal life in this song.Nice one.
6. Think Everything
Harmonic topics and struggle are in focus of this album. Think Everything is about mental issues and the inner conflict of a person with bad thoughts. Especially in the second half of the track, you feel the dark side of the emotions rather strongly, which leads to an impressing experience.
7. No Compromise
No, you can’t use me
No, I will go
No, you can’t have it
It’s mine, you fool
No, you won’t get me
I won’t let go
No, you won’t have me
I will always say no
The seventh track on Gathering Hearts is more angry, opposing – and thus also nicely fits to the rather rocking and hard melody. The drums are almost stomping permanently in the background. The song might thus be a favorite of listeners, who rather lean towards indie-rock.
8. Words of Elegance
A key characteristic of Gathering Hearts is that the songs are rather short. This creates a lot of speed and change while listening to the full album. Nonetheless, Words of Elegance is the only song on the album, which is shorter than two minutes. It is again rather leaning into the grungy, indie-rock style of the 1990’s. Thus, it still leaves a nice mark.
9. Donut of Darkness
The ninth song is titled as Donut of Darkness. Unfortunately, this phrase is not used in the lyrics, which describe the perpetual cycle of struggle and hope. For example, the Luxembourg artist states Thoughts can be hell, or they can help, I love life. Episodes like this lead to a very personal, direct touch.
10. Cracks
With 3:38 minute, the closing song Cracks is the longest one on Florence Besch’s album. At the end of the record, the sound becomes gentle and stronger emphasizes the dream-pop element in her music. The track as a really nice plot and feels like a worthy and strong statement at the end of this release.
Florence Besch – Gathering Hearts – Spotify
Here is the album on Spotify:
Florence Besch – Gathering Hearts – My View
The speed of the album, the rather short duration of its tracks nicely outplays the weak spot of Gathering Hearts. Florence Besch is is creating a beautiful, atmospheric listen – but there are also some undeniable similarities in it. Nonetheless, the blending of the genres feels unique and characteristic, which made me enjoy her sophomore album.
Favorite Song: Cracks
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