BUZZKILL by ©Nolwenn Boyet
On January 9, Ganache Records, Manic Depression, and Coeur sur toi co-released the debut album, “Wasteland,” by the French post-punk duo BUZZKILL. The band from Montpellier burst onto the European scene with a diamond album, a dynamite album containing 7 tracks that immediately throw you to your feet without any hesitation and without any excuses, just like “Hello, this is our debut cocktail, good luck to you.”
Nolwenn Boyet (lead voice, synth) and Ronan Gauderat (bass) showcase a remarkable honesty in their music that feels refreshingly raw. This generation of artists tends not to confine themselves to strict musical genres, and BUZZKILL could easily be classified as a post-punk band.
photo by Noria Yousfi / @culturecrousmontpellier
However, they successfully navigate through the realms of coldwave and punk, often accompanied by an industrial undertone in their musical explorations. Drawing on the legacy of the French Wave while being influenced by the vibrant street culture of France, they create music that feels almost rebellious—dark, raw, and infused with a sense of cynicism. Although this style is not easy to master, BUZZKILL navigates it all with remarkable ease and confidence; they have that unique certainty and quality!
The hollow joy of the 80s is evident throughout the album, but as if translated with the modern tools of deconstruction of everything, and Nolwenn‘s vocal style helped a lot in this, which at times is like lamenting or condemning, while Ronan, behind it all, builds and demolishes the cement sound and the theories with his bass.
If this is just BUZZKILL‘s debut album, then I can’t help but be excited for their next album already, and how they will “behave” to the human society then – the world is showing its dirty claws and bands like them will always be there to cut off the whole hand, this whole snake. It’s nice to have post-punk that wants a little coldwave in it, this coldwave that has the heart of a punk on a mission.
This is “Wasteland”, the debut album of BUZZKILL, one of the best albums of the year (for sure) so far, and if an atomic bomb doesn’t fall on Europe by the end of the year, then it will figure high on the December lists as well. Voila!
Keep up with Buzzkill:Buzzkill by ©Nolwenn Boyet
Written by Mike D.
