Callstore - Save No One

by Dave Goodwin

published: 22 / 2 / 2015

Label: Talitres
Format: CD

Melancholic and haunting debut album from the Callstore, the project of Brittany-born but London-based musician, Simon Bertrand

Review

Talitres is the French label which has been responsible in recent years for giving us wonderful sounds from artists like Micah P. Hinson, Rachael Dadd and most importantly the National. Here they have discovered some home grown talent in the melancholic sounds of the Callstore, the nom de plume for a Brittany-born but UK-based musician, Simon Bertrand. Based in London for 15 years, the Callstore was actually discovered in late 2010 by the explosive collective PAN! Upon hearing the song ‘Begging Oh My Darling’, that label was hooked, releasing it on their third Telescopage compilation. As the Callstore’s press release describes it, “the dark, hypnotic vocals, the palpable fragility, the magical melancholy and heartfelt lyrics had found a home.” While it is the National and Matt Berninger that Bertrand has quite clearly styled himself on, the large majority of the drum sections were programmed on a PlayStation and the album is completely self-penned, recorded and produced. The Callstore describe this album as "a way to share an experience, rather than a conscious decision to come out of anonymity, it is because - rightly perhaps - that music generally speaks for itself and that everything around it often resembles little else than a shadow play and a throw of confetti". ‘Save No One’ begins with an ‘Intro', an instrumental with military drums in it, and then kicks into the indie beat of ‘Lovers Lane’. You can’t help but feel the likeness to the National on these tracks and other such as ‘Come On Then’, but other songs such as ‘Thou Shall Be Broken’, which starts with a great Hammond organ-like intro and then becomes increasingly off-kilter and ‘Each to Their Own’, which has a magic box feel to it, move far beyond this.‘In Between Tricks and Magicians Bows’, one of the strongest tracks here, sets what sounds like a drum machine to work and has a folk sound. ‘Pointless Hearts Continue to Break’ finds Bertrand morbidly revisiting the past as he sits alone "dreaming of murder" and of "sinking ships". ‘The Letting Go’ is a quieter number, but probably my favourite on this album as Bertrand strips his soul bare and describes the breaking up of his relationship admitting that "the hardest part is the letting go". ‘Rich Man’ meanwhile is very eccentric, starting off with a strange beats, but then drifts into a full on foot-tapper. Bertrand has said he has enough music in store for two or three albums, along with an insatiable desire to carry on writing. On the evidence of these twelve sensitive and poignant songs, we look forward to hearing more.

Track Listing:-

1 Intro
2 Lovers Lane
3 Come on Then
4 Thou Shall Be Broken
5 Each to Their Own
6 Sad Sometimes
7 The Departed
8 In Between Tricks the Magician Bow
9 Pointless Continue to Break
10 The Letting Go
11 Rich Man
12 Above and Beneath Your Feet