‘Intérêts complaisants à peine voilés, finiront vite exposés, Derrière les drones les accords et les traits demeurent les ruines, les vies broyées’ (La Loi Du Marché ) / ‘Barely veiled, self-serving interests will soon be exposed, Behind the drones, the agreements, and the lines, the ruins and shattered lives remain’ (The Law Of The Market)

Toulouse’s Nightwatchers are back with a new four-track 7-inch and follow up to 2024’s split album with Accidente.  They once again treat us to a lesson in thoroughly well crafted, darkly melodic punk, harnessing in equal measure a brooding post-punk sombreness and a bristling hardcore abrasiveness.  The result is both anthemic and austere in equal measure, with the evocatively layered vocals and flaring melodies bringing to mind the similarly deft songwriting of Red Dons.

Qu’importe La Mort (What Does Death Matter) is largely a meditation on war – its existential horror, the economic compulsions that drive it, and the self-serving myths that underpin much of the security narrative.  The hauntingly brooding opener, Atomisés (Atomised) contemplates the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Japan, the surging La Loi Du Marché tackles France’s complicity in the global arms trade, and the anarcho-tinged fury of Dommages Collatéraux (Collateral Damage) maps out the threats of rapid escalation in an increasingly insecure world.  The focus shifts to a reflection of the nature of grief on the melodically reflective closer, Malemort (Cruel Death), to round off a sharply impactful EP.