Ogives are led by ambition. That is the easiest way to describe the newly formed, nine-piece from Belgium. Featuring members of the criminally underrated, and equally ambitious Helium Horse Fly, Ogives make a start to their discography with the 75-minute long opus, La Mémoire des Orages (roughly translated to The Memory of Storms.) And it is very much a storm that they conjure here, free-flowing through contrastive modes. From the progressive rock and post-rock domains, all the way to contemporary and chamber music, it feels like there is no boundary that Ogives will not cross.
The introduction of the work is harrowing, suddenly being transported to this medievalesque setting. Choirs appear in overwhelming splendor with “Au Ruisseau Des Départs.” It feels like you are witnessing something of a different era, a long-forgotten moment in human history. Within this setting, Ogives can further explore its various facades, always led through by Marie Billy’s wonderful vocal performance. The start of “La Lenteur de la Foudre” sees this chamber music, laid-back approach crafting an intimate space. The sorrowful violin molds this procession before a quasi-classical methodology is applied in the likes of “L’Oubli.” The trajectory twists and turns and this approach takes on post-rock elements with “Mighty Pumpkin (Reprise).”
This is where the foundation of the work lives. The heavier manifestations of the rock form, seeing the post-rock and progressive rock sides come together in “D’autres Lunes.” The repetitive motifs take from the Constellation DNA, with the synthesizer additions collapsing everything into noise. Yet, there is an older structure that Ogives call upon with their progressive rock side. “Black Furrows” carries much of that scene, infecting it further with math-rock-informed flourishes, as with the ending of “Entre Les Secondes.” It is in these moments that the duality of the drums from Tom Malmendier and Alexis Van Doosselaere shines. Frantically filling the space with their subtle recitals, while the heavy feedback and the horn section craft the soundscapes. It leads to explosive crescendos, be it through the discordant bends of “D’autres Lunes” or the strange, jazz fusion akin powertrip in “Von Nun and Drängt Die Zeit.” A frantic groove collapses from the structured procession, building the magnificent contrast that is so pivotal to this work.
La Mémoire des Orages further slithers through different modes and narratives. It takes on a meditative form, the repeated mantra of “patience” letting in this beam of light in an otherwise murky world. It fully blossoms through the title track, but Ogives are masters of controlling the dynamics. They are able to then subdue it all with their jazzy implementations, which they adorn perfectly to the chamber motifs of “Mighty Pumpkin,” or by exploring the drone rock space.
It is a tall task to carry all this ambition, but Ogives are able to do it with a stunning sense of grace. La Mémoire des Orages is able to balance between its diverse components in a fragile way, and still lash out in furious assaults. In that way, it carries much of a spirit of old, a lineage from decades gone. And yet, it does not attempt to replicate, but it instead tries to do something new.
