Seventeen years after their last album, the Brussels-based band remains firmly anchored in Anglo-Saxon rock.
When does a group belong to the past? Can it stay relevant and current after about fifteen years of absence? Is it even possible not to yield to the charms of nostalgia? Following Seefeel and Syd Matters, Ghinzu is the third band currently rekindling these questions, while ultimately showing little interest in answering them.
When contemplating the successor to Mirror Mirror (2009), the Brussels outfit simply followed a pulse, not aiming to upheave everything or betray their early influences, especially drawn from Anglo-Saxon rock: Queen (for lyricism), Radiohead (for sophistication) and David Bowie (for dramaturgy).
If Ghinzu unfortunately does not manage to reach the same heights as its illustrious elders—how many artists can even claim to?—and sometimes even seems to recycle old demos—Out of Control dates from 2015—W.O.W.A nonetheless remains a solid record.
The Belgians dare with evolving songs – the opening When Other Worlds Await stretches to nearly eight minutes –, swing from bursts of riffs to electronic textures, sometimes deprive themselves of the charismatic voice of John Stargasm (Master Bluff) or venture into grand, beautiful orchestrations. As exemplified by Breathless and Apologies, which unfold a scale and a romance that we naïvely thought were reserved for Scott Walker’s albums.
W.O.W.A (PIAS). Release on May 29. In concert at the Élysée Montmartre, Paris, on June 2 and at the Olympia, Paris, on October 14 and 15.
