Music reviewers and critics sometimes get puzzled how to categorize music of a certain artist or a band that basically skips across different genres, particularly when those artists and bands reference other artists that are actually taking the same approach to their music – trying to use as many different elements as they see fit.
Take for example Madlen Keys. No, it’s not a single person, but a quartet led by Caroline Calen, an intriguing songwriter in her own right.
It is all evident on their latest offering Event Horizon album that is abundant with Calen’s complex musical ideas searching for a specific musical identity that at the same time references the likes of Kate Bush, Radiohead, Björk, Jeff Buckley among others, without at any moment trying to either copy or idolize any of those.
Actually, Calen establishes quite a unique musical personality that dives into prog rock, trip hop, dream pop and what not else, with quite some ease without making a mess out of it at any point.
Of course, Calen’s band (Yann Pousset on drums, Antoine Geremia on keyboards and Baptiste Mottais on guitar) exhibit quite ample musical capabilities to back Calen’s songwriting and vocals in the right manner, making Event Horizon one of the undiscovered gems of 2023.
