Artist : Charlotte Wessels

Album : Tales From Six Under Feets

Release Date : 17-09-2021

Added : 20-10-2021

After the rather unexpected announcement of the separation of 'Delain' in early 2021, the band members aspiring to solo careers (keyboardist 'Martijn Westerholt' being the only one to continue under the band name), female singer 'Charlotte Wessels' already announced that she was going to devote herself to a solo career and it was only a few months later that her first album was released, an album that is a compilation of a large part of the songs she has put online for the fans who have subscribed to her 'Patreon' site since May 2020. Exit the symphonic metal, Charlotte, who took care of the programming of the instruments and of course who sings in all the tracks, embarks us in a musical universe that mixes pop and rock in resolutely modern atmospheres with the contribution of electronic sounds.

'Superhuman' sets the tone in an intimate atmosphere close to electro pop and the instrumental arrangements give a certain relief to this beautiful composition, then, 'Afkicken', sung in Dutch, starts calmly with percussion in the background but quickly takes off with a catchy melody that accompanies us throughout the track. With 'Materpiece', we're right in the middle of a more commercial electro pop track, then 'Victor', in the same style, pays tribute to the beautiful poem 'Demain dès l'aube' by 'Victor Hugo' (see the beautiful video with 'Timo Sommers' here). This is followed by 'New Mythology', the first track she posted online which showed these 180 degrees turn, this being one of the more intimate tracks on the album, then 'Source of the Flame' consists of a semi-acoustic first part conducive to a mind wandering and a much more electrified and blaring second bringing a remarkable opposition to this track. Cry Little Sister' is a cover of the 1987 film soundtrack 'The Last Boy', which was written and composed by 'Gerard McMahon' and 'Michael Mainieri', with 'Charlotte Wessels' accentuating the rather dark rhythm section of the original, then, Without transition, 'Lizzie' offers us a beautiful complicity between 'Charlotte Wessels' and 'Alissa White-Gluz' (who we are not used to hearing in such an intimate register) in a bewitching atmosphere and with harmonious melodic lines. More powerful and after a crescendo introduction, 'FSU (2020)' is certainly the track that comes closest to the style of 'Delain' but keeping electronic sounds instead of saturated guitar riffs and ending with a quieter section, and the album ends in beauty with 'Soft Revolution' which is undoubtedly the highlight of the album with its 7 minutes, its melancholic and moving atmosphere and its chorus whose melody comes to be grafted directly in the head.

In summary, with this first solo album, 'Charlotte Wessels' has succeeded in making us forget the singer of 'Delain' by showing us another side of her personality, certainly closer to her current aspirations, allowing a more intimate creativity to express itself in a modern pop style which will undoubtedly allow her to reach a wider audience in addition to its hardcore fan base...

Line Up / Musicians

Charlotte Wessels (Vocal, Programmation : Guitar, Bass, Keybords, Drums) + Guest : Alissa White-Gluz (Vocal)