Thirty years into one of heavy music’s most quietly essential careers, Impure Wilhelmina have done something remarkable. They’ve started over, on their own terms, and made it sound completely inevitable.
‘Le Sanglot’ arrives May 22 via Season of Mist, the sixth full-length from the Geneva-based post-hardcore quartet, and it’s the record that redraws everything. For the first time in their career, the band has written entirely in French, a shift that’s less a stylistic choice and more a full unlocking of something that’s been building since 1996.
The lead single “Électricité noire” announces the change immediately. It’s a crackling, immersive piece of music, an ode to rock itself, dense with atmosphere and forward momentum. The kind of track that makes you want to hear the whole album right now.
Impure Wilhelmina earned their reputation the hard way. Founded in Geneva in 1996, they built a loyal following through grinding European tours and a catalog that kept getting sharper, from the raw early albums ‘I Can’t Believe I Was Born in July’ (2003) and ‘L’amour, la mort, l’enfance perdue’ (2005), through to the critically celebrated run of ‘Black Honey’ (2014), ‘Radiation’ (2017) and ‘Antidote’ (2021). They’ve shared stages with Gojira, Baroness, Amenra, Sólstafir and Crippled Black Phoenix. That’s not a support slot résumé, that’s a statement of rank.
‘Le Sanglot’ was built with a new creative force in the room. Guitarist Edouard Nicod joined founding members Michael Schindl (vocals, guitar), Sébastien Dutruel (bass) and Mario Togni (drums) for the sessions, and his presence clearly pushed the band into territory they hadn’t explored before. The album was recorded and produced at Kitchen Studio in Geneva by Yvan Bing, with mastering handled by Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studio in Stockholm. Track 9, “Demain j’abandonne,” was recorded separately by Serge Morattel at Rec Studio.
Guest musician Marion Leclercq of Mütterlein appears on “Train mort,” one of ten tracks spanning a tight, purposeful 50 minutes. The full tracklist moves with real range, from the bruising “Cent mille plaies” at 3:43 to the sprawling “Abîme” at 6:26, with the album closing on the cinematic “À jamais radieuse.” Every turn earns its place.
If you know Impure Wilhelmina, ‘Le Sanglot’ is the album you didn’t know you were waiting for. If you don’t, this is the exact right place to start.
‘Le Sanglot’ Tracklist:
- Électricité noire (5:01)
- Cent mille plaies (3:43)
- Abîme (6:26)
- Larmes de joie (5:02)
- Dévoreur d’étoiles (6:00)
- Train mort (4:03)
- Frelon ivre (4:40)
- Blanche réalité (5:35)
- Demain j’abandonne (4:04)
- À jamais radieuse (5:52)