Cheval De Frise

Vincent Beysselance and Thomas Bonvalet formed the instrumental duo Cheval de Frise, which drew widespread notice throughout the French underground immediately upon the release of its debut LP. The pair, rooted in the Bordeaux rock milieu, gained access to wider touring circuits through that record. Their placement on Sonore—the label run by Franck Stofer, formerly the drummer of Belly Button—ensured prompt visibility. The self-titled album, captured in 2000, proves both distinctive and restlessly inventive. Drums and electro-acoustic guitar intertwine throughout its pieces, yielding a baroque soundworld poised between experimental composition and raw, primitive noisy rock. Although spiritually near the instrumental explorations of Don Caballero, the music avoids riff-based structures in favor of fractured melodies.