Hermetic Delight’s new release, Vagabond Melodies, is the audio equivalent of throwing a dart at a map and just driving until the gas tank runs empty. This record doesn’t follow any logical instructions, because it carries nine songs born purely out of instinct and suspended moments, like the random, perfect pictures you take on a long journey that, when you look back, somehow tell the whole story. This whole album is like a vision that just materialized. It wasn’t some pre-planned concept or a committee decision. It sounds like an unexplainable certainty, etched into the air before the band even picked up their instruments. It has this incredible blend of being super tender and totally unbothered by what anyone in the industry might expect. Coming out of Strasbourg, France, and Ankara, Turkey, the band is constantly dealing in shifts, soft retreats followed by sharp waves, and they handle every turn with this beautiful, unscripted grace. The structure of Vagabond Melodies is what keeps you totally hooked. The flow moves in jolts. It’s direct pop music that hits you sharply, but with this great elegance, and it is always, always pulsing with life. You can hear their history woven in here. They used to get caught up in that push-pull between shoegaze haze and straight-up noise rock. Their sound has always occupied that sweet spot between the raw, immediate punch of great garage bands and the shimmering, atmospheric dreaminess of true art-pop masters.
This new record is the culmination of their evolution as a band. It’s tighter, more direct, and definitely more grounded than anything they’ve done before. The core conflict between noise and pop is still there, but now it’s more focused than ever before. The absolute key to this beautiful chaos is the band itself, and how they interact. First, Zeynep Kaya’s acts as a constant guide. Her voice serves as a the main melody, wrapping around the sound and carrying the emotional weight. It pulls tight when the song gets anxious and stretches out when it floats into space. She’s the reason the direct pop hits you right in the chest, acting as the consistent human element across the whole unpredictable journey. Then you have Delphine Padilla on drums. This is where the energy comes from as she brings a massive, controlled drive to the rhythms. Every hit feels free, like a piece of choreography. She’s the engine, giving the album more forward motion and that necessary sense of travel. Her groove is what makes the vagabond feeling completely real. Next up, Atef Aouadhi handles the guitars and bass works are more than impressive. He makes the instruments have a conversation. Sometimes the tones are sharp and demanding, sometimes they’re totally clear and spacious. He’s constantly carving out room around Zeynep’s voice and guiding the tracks through their shifts. His bass work anchors the album, giving it a physical presence, while the guitars provide all the necessary spark, tension, and noise. And don’t overlook the synths. They flare up or withdraw at the perfect moment. They unsettle the vibe just enough to keep you focused, or they light up the track with a sudden, beautiful shimmer. They are the unplanned detours, the elements of surprise that instantly shift the entire mood of the song.
Hermetic Delight has this fantastic habit of locking onto a core musical idea, a motif, and obsessing over it, letting it repeat, almost hypnotically. They do this even while the guitars get noisier or the synths go wild around it. That technique grounds the song, gives it serious emotional depth, and makes the sudden pop moments feel incredibly free and earned. Vagabond Melodies is an album that thrives on change. You get the loud, confident tracks, the sharp waves and direct pop hits, but you also get the quiet moments that dissolve into atmosphere, or should we say, soft retreats. The band moves through all this with pure instinct and total confidence, never following a script. This material is definitive proof that Hermetic Delight has found their true voice. They’ve expertly blended sophisticated art pop with genuine, leveled indie rock energy. It’s a fascinating, ethereal, tender masterpiece, and you should immediately check it out. Do not miss this gem!
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