After 2o years of sound work and field recording, Gaël Segalen finally released her first LP.  2016’s L’Ange Le Sage was melodic and abrasive in equal quantities. Memoir of My Manor continues in this vein, adding a new, nearly club-like sensibility.  The Parisian artist calls her compositions “danceable field recording”, but the first album only hinted at the dance floor, while the second flaunts this facet before drawing back to the shadows.  This is appropriate for an album inspired by monsters, although the creature on the cover doesn’t seem all that scary.

The thirteen-minute “Remember” pulses and broods, while failing to give an indication of the artist’s rough edges.  Instead, it operates as a dangerous mirror to Giorgio Moroder’s “The Chase”, inviting listeners to run rather than dance.  When additional synths enter, the track takes on a near-industrial sheen.  It’s a bold opening gambit, daring listeners to stick around for…