CATHEDRALE

Over ten years, one EP, and five albums, the Toulouse-based band CATHEDRALE has steadily refined their sound: razor-sharp guitars, defiant vocals, and precise rhythms serve a post-something music that is more proto than punk, as powerful as it is pop, always pushing the limit. After touring across Europe with bands like Thee Oh Sees, Frustration, Rendez-vous, and Uranium Club, CATHEDRALE has earned a solid reputation on stage. For their fifth album, the band traveled to Brussels, reuniting with producer Mathieu Versini to record and mix POISON in a single week. Mastering was handled by Mathis Kolkoz at Golden Claw Studio.

Cathedrale’s fifth album, Poison, dives into a deeper darkness, revealing a more introspective side of the band. This work brings a newfound density, emphasizing complex arrangements. Mythological themes emerge in Enchantress, where Circe, an enchanting figure, wields poison. The Setting Sun offers a free interpretation of Baudelaire and his opium, resulting in a raw, poetic translation. In South Life, daily struggles blend with anxiety, trapped in the traffic jams of Toulouse’s ring road, close to the edge. The album artwork by Guillaume Berneau is inspired by a photograph of swans taken in Manchester during a tour, adding spontaneity and symbolism to the album’s visual universe. Musically, Poison distills the group’s accumulated influences and experience. The result: a dark, powerful, and explosive sound where punk energy fuses with emotional depth.