What does Bison Rouge sound like?

Cello pop that marries the classical and alternative worlds into one vision and sound.

The review of ‘Her Salt’ by Bison Rouge

Sitting somewhere between orchestral pop, darkwave, and electronica, Bison Rouge has never played it safe, nor been part of this world. On her new album ‘Her Salt ‘, the German-based artist explores the fairytale myth. It is sonically diverse, complex, and expressive, as Bison Rouge wields her cello like a sonic weapon.

The album opens with the driving electronics of ‘Crown Crescent Moon’. The track follows the ocean birth of the Baltic State, as well as Bison Rouge herself, starting off with a pulsing beat before shapeshifting into something wider and more cinematic. Key to this are Ashia Grzesik’s vocals and cello performances. As her alter ego, she swoops in with the perfect cello note bend that sounds and feels like a shoreline wave pulling in and receding. With her voice following suit, and other keyboards following, the track has a foreboding majesty to it. Much like a Slavic Galadriel, there’s a fierce power under the beauty.

The title track follows like a curious mix of Persian forbidden fruit and a neoclassical take on sultry lounge jazz. Industrial clangs and sparse percussion shimmy around yearning, seductive cello and vocals. “Her Salt is her language on the tip of your tongue” serenades Bison Rouge with a breathy falsetto. It’s beautiful, and does so much with a limited sound palette. The same can be said for the wordless, but not vocalless, ‘Call Through Oceans’. This layered cello piece broods in slow motion, like a graceful blue whale. At the halfway point, it turns into an echoed bubble as pulsating synths and Ashia’s vocals gurgle like a watery engine. Fans of Abzu’s soundtrack and Baltic chord progressions will adore this.

From water to fire, desire and struggle take over for ‘Burn All My’. The lyrics mostly list all the things Bison Rouge has lost on her journey, whilst wooden sticks and drum loops rattle the speakers like a caged beast. The cello wraps itself around an impassioned vocal performance before a cinematic union of voice and cello blasts a coda of “We Rise”, complete with bell tolls. The album is never a few seconds away from a cinematic or dramatic moment. I’m just constantly impressed by how varied those moments are. From rage, ‘Death is a Woman in White’ is far more lamenting. Taking cues from Kishi Bashi’s orchestral pop and folk hybrid sound, the cello provides the chords and sawing melody whilst a soaring falsetto glides over the deep, ghostly void. Add in some atmospherics that sound like vinyl cracks crossed with cracking ice, and you have a neoclassical beauty.

‘Hold and Fall’ brings things down to a slow reflection with a haunted ballad. Piano joins the cello and voice for a heavy, neoclassical piece. If you enjoy the music of Hanakiv, Agnes Obel, Soley, and Soap&Skin’s quieter moments, this permeates the sound atmosphere. There is gentle dissonance every few notes, and the cello rarely sits neatly on a chord. The lyrics are a hopeful homage to holding the hands of your ancestors and walking with them, yet musically, it sounds like each step is a trust fall waiting to fail. Much like the birth of a country, or an ocean, or in this case, an artist, resolution is about letting nature take its course. ‘Sometimes at Night’ is an uplifting, affirming electronic cello pop finale. Declaring that the call of the wild is in the beat of her heart, the urge to create and embrace it drives joyous abundance for the finale. Swirling cello, folksy vocals that remind me of early Beth Orton in places, and a skipping beat like a free child. It’s all here for a satisfying conclusion.

Bison Rouge continues to create fantastic music that sounds bigger than one woman and her loop pedals. Her cello playing is sumptuous, and the way the instrument wraps around either her vocals or another motif has a certain romance to it that I love. When that’s paired with the darker electronic tones, a splash of darkwave, and some banging beats, then you have a true alternative and indie winner.

Recommended track: Crown Crescent Moon

Support Higher Plain Music

Higher Plain Music is part of the Higher Plain Network – a one-man indie media project. If you like what I do, please consider supporting me using Patreon for as little as $1/£1 a month. In return, you’ll receive additional perks for supporting me, such as behind-the-scenes content and free downloads. You can also donate using PayPal.

If you can’t help financially, then reading and sharing the website helps, too. When you click on an Amazon affiliate buy now link and purchase something on Amazon, I receive a few pence in referral commission. All your support will enable me to produce better content, more often. I’d love to make this a full-time media network, and your support can make that happen. Thank you for helping keep truly independent media alive.