Tying together last year’s Yours EP with a string of past singles, French Film presents Yours + Five, an unrelenting, amorphous wall of sound. In the shoegaze tradition, obscure vocals take a backseat to constant volume and reverb. Yet, on antepenultimate “Blair,” the collection’s only previously unreleased song, a lyrical narrative emerges. Bassist Ash Keenum and guitarist Colby Falkner James trade vocals as their cynical lyrics drive gaze-y guitar through pummeling drums and piercing feedback. “Don’t follow it into the dark/ Don’t waste the sun,” Keenum sings, her harsh delivery made soft under the wool blanket of dissonance. With “Blair,” words force the music along; thick guitar sludge drags James and Keenum through the mud on the other nine tracks. The album’s most unique song, “Lily,” finds depth in the lack of constant sound, its glitchy feedback produced in a universe alternate to Feeble Little Horse, with Keenum as an underworld Lydia Slocum. The band makes music meant to be heard in a packed basement – headphones don’t quite work. If I muffle my speakers a little, they’re my downstairs neighbor practicing at 2am, and I’m not gonna complain.
This article appears in September 11 • 2026.