Diagonale des Yeux: Madeleine review | Safi Bugel's experimental album of the month

"The bizarre, multilingual stories that emerged match the French duo's ramshackle, home-recorded sound, which features everything from toybox percussion to farmyard sound effects. Their whimsical approach is anchored in the outsider pop and post-punk of 1980s Europe, which embraced discordant instrumentation and disaffected vocals."

"These 12 tracks are charmingly lo-fi, built around rudimentary synth and guitar melodies that often careen into strange directions. Both sing, adding to the theatrics: playing around with effects, they range from pitch-shifted, kitten-like miaows to macho groans."

"Tracks such as Hills of Love and Paradies stand out for their simple, almost melancholy wooziness, while Nana Nina calls to mind the pleasingly mechanical duets of minimal synth group Deux. Elsewhere, the duo channel Martin Rev in their drum-machine crooner Cherry Ann, and the Korgis on Change Your Heart."

Diagonale des Yeux, a French duo of Laurene Exposito and Theo Delaunay, created their debut album using an exquisite corpse writing method, alternating contributions in French, German, English, and Spanish. The resulting 12 tracks combine whimsical, multilingual narratives with deliberately lo-fi production featuring rudimentary synths, guitars, and unconventional sounds like toybox percussion and farmyard effects. Drawing from 1980s European outsider pop and post-punk traditions, the album showcases theatrical vocals with various effects and melodies that frequently shift direction unexpectedly. While some tracks employ gimmicky approaches, standout moments like Hills of Love and Paradies demonstrate genuine melancholy and restraint. The duo reference minimal synth and cold wave influences throughout, delivering these homages with playful irony rather than earnestness.

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