Ethical and environmental concerns have always been very high on the agenda for the Brighton-based band, no more so than on this, their fourth long player. "In a state of suspended animation are the awesome creatures, the leviathans that have roamed the earth since the beginning of time, reeking prehistoric fury on modern man and its puny machines," goes the 50s B-movie voiceover that introduces ‘Behemooth’, the opening track on Preternatural.

And from thereon, it's a typically super-tight, and thrilling rollercoaster of a ride that sees the band move decidedly on from their classical prog-folk sound of Moulettes, The Bear's Revenge, and Constellations, into more acutely prog-rock terrain, albeit tempered by classical flourishes, and the odd detour into electronica.

Indeed, ‘Behemooth’ sums up where the band are in 2016, its extraordinarily elastic and complex arrangement underpinned by some sturdy rock drumming, big guitar, bass, bassoon and cello notes in unison. The vocals of relative newcomer Raevennan Husbandes – whose excellent guitar work is a feature throughout – provides a lightness of touch amongst the heaviness, while the band's backing vocals are forthright and hyper-dynamic. Altogether, it mimics the idea of the behemoth, a mystical underwater creature that emits a mighty noise ('the bloop'). The band conjure up musical images that paint a picture of this 'gentle giant', a play on one of the band's favoured prog-rock artists of the 70s, alongside the likes of King Crimson, and the more theatrical glam rock sounds of Queen, as well as more contemporary points of reference, such as Snarky Puppy and Tuneyards.

So, at once playful, and yet deadly serious, the Moulettes, via the magical-realism lyricism of Hannah Moulette, explore both the idea and reality of environmental destruction and also nature in harmony, mostly concerning the fantastic and richly varied ecosystems and life that lie beneath the waters of our one and only Earth, but also above ground, too, with awe-inspiring birds and spiders in their scope. Moreover, the title of the album refers to the phenomenon that we are suspended between the mundane and the miraculous, often in relation to the laws of nature that appear to have been violated via their spectacular otherworldliness that can be found deep underwater, but which is simply life in forms not generally familiar to mere homo sapiens.

Tracks such as ‘Underwater Painter’ continue this broad theme, in praise and in awe of this fantastical world played out within the parameters of this heavier sound, the solo apparently in homage to Prince, according to Hannah. “If you're not really looking, then you won't see / colour matched for colour, meticulously / Way down in the darkness mysterious deep, many are the strange creatures that never sleep". And the effortless funkiness of ‘Coral’ both celebrates and frets about these 'jungle gardens': "We are the force of nature we cannot control, can control / What is done, is done, can't undo it… It's all in the palm of our hands".

Elsewhere, the David Attenborough-inspired ‘Puffer Fish Love’ offers some respite as the pace slows considerably. A nineties vibe prevalent, percussion and keys drive the song along in tandem with the spacious atmospherics, and concerning the subtle complexities of love and respect towards nature. While ‘Hidden World's’ brooding, electronic atmospherics beautifully conveys the subject matter within, while the bouncy and complex electro prog-rock of ‘Patterns’ is but another song that contains several ideas in one, such is their restless inventiveness, and their natural inclination to 'progression', all the while delivered with masterful fluidity. Similarly, they also pull this off with ‘Bird of Paradise’, a song that at moments sounds cacophonically theatrical, and at others sweet in melody, much like birds do when in song.

Meticulous in detail, ambitious in scope, and audaciously arranged, the Moulettes rarely sit still, diving fearlessly into their unique musical world, instrumentation and voices swooping and swooning, often quickly changing direction and shape, like a murmuration of starlings, perhaps never more so than on the fantastically complex ‘Rite of Passage’: "I was born curious, I need to know my way back by heart, this is learned behaviour" sing the band, as they change gears constantly, veering from folksy plucking to Queenesque riffage, glorious harmony voices holding together this kaleidoscopic panoply of ideas rich in tone and dynamics, and all packed in a mere three minutes and forty seconds.

As always with the Moulettes, the more you listen, the more that is revealed within the super-tight playing. While thematically, Hannah says: "Lost love is sad, but a lost species is a tragedy for us all," Once again, here is a genre-defying album, that is both big of sound, and big of heart.
Jeff Hemmings

Read our 2014 interview with Hannah and Ollie: Moulettes Interview
Website: moulettes.co.uk
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