Puissance Cube – La Fin Des Temps
Juvenile Delinquent Records
I think it’s fair to say that I first heard of Nantes’ power pop formation Puissance Cube through their fairly brilliant cover of Lion’s Law’s “Lafayette”. Titled “Lafay8-bit”, the cover was a fun and lighthearted take on the boisterous anthem of the Parisian Oi! band and was part of the band’s magnificent debut LP “La Malédiction Des Météores”. Now, nearly five years later, Puissance Cube is back with their second physical release in the form of the “La Fin Des Temps” EP and once again it makes my heart flutter!
Obviously because of the music – more on that later – but also because of the packaging of this cassette released EP. Because “La Fin Des Temps” is not housed in just your ordinary case, but it’s actually housed in an old SEGA Megadrive/Genesis game case and forgive me, but I can really nerd out over stuff like that! I’m an 80’s baby and a 90’s SEGA kid and this just brings back memories of playing Sonic at my uncle’s place (which was actually my grandparents’ attic), the excitement of the day we finally got our own system (with Decap Attack) and saving up months and months of pocket money to buy Mortal Kombat (that my mom had to get for me, I was only 10), but also the memories of a happy, carefree life with nothing to worry about and all of family still around. But that’s just me. For you it might just be a clumsy big case you can’t really store anywhere and you know what, that’s okay as well.
Because in the end the music is all that matters and with these four new tracks (which were actually recorded in the summer of 2020 already) Puissance Cube delivered something that matters! The French outfit combines my love for strong female vocals, ultra catchy power pop (or pop punk, whatever you prefer) and this weird obsession I have with the keytar – especially when it’s used as perfect and as prominent as Puissance Cube does! Title-track “La Fin Des Temps” and the three remaining earwurms – namely “Action Mécanique”, “Femme Augmentée” and “J’ai Peur Du Noir” (which is actually a re-interpretation of Iron Maiden’s “Fear Of The Dark”) are an accumulation of powerful, synthesized melodies, fabulous vocals in French and snappy hooks you want to play on over and over again!
Needless to say, but I love this release! I love the music, I love the packaging and I love the artwork (courtesy of Jérôme Brizard). Usually I (obviously) prefer vinyl, or even CD’s, over cassettes – but for this release I’ll gladly make an exception! An absolute must if you ask me! Welcome to the next level!
