Album Notes

Drawing from post-punk, shoegaze, dream pop and darkwave, C'est la Mort excavate corners of prized record collections and secret histories to create an atmospheric and angular dream-pop soundscape. Dark and driving, they take cues from 4AD, the Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, Lush, Blonde Redhead, Colin Newman, and the Comsat Angels.

After weathering multiple line ups (some bordering on the Spinal Tap-esque: one drummer left because of narcolepsy; another moved to Belgium to work for the DEA), Seattle's C'est la Mort (pronounced: say la more) recorded their debut record with Scott Colburn (Animal Collective, Arcade Fire).

for more info and interactive biography, go to: www.cestlamort.com
---

Where has this band been all my shoegaze-loving life? - Seattle Weekly
Tödlich gut - Coast is Clear

The Big Takeover:
This Seattle shoegaze/dream pop/darkwave quartet makes its full-length debut with Empty Words. Bassist Kim House and guitarist Jim Biggs share vocal duties; her high, airy voice and his Ian Curtisian style are nicely complementary. Familiar attributes are in place: plangent bass timbre occasionally in a higher, melodic range; shimmering, effects-laden wall o' guitar; busily propulsive yet relatively unobtrusive drumming; mildly Gothy lyrics oozing dark angst – it's easy to imagine, while listening, that it's still the '80s.

Review from ThreeImaginaryGirls.com
C'est La Mort — Empty Words Fill Lonely Spaces
{8}

To be concise, Empty Words Fill Lonely Spaces by Seattle’s C’est la Mort is a masterful record that has helped me realize that there are still some fine groups out there. This band has been around for some time under various incarnations, but the one that recorded this album -- their debut -- has honed down their sound to an immaculate result.

C’est la Mort consists of a drummer, a bassist, and two guitarists; whose delicate interplay weaves a sonic concoction full of ethereal beauty and urban angst. Their style instantly evokes the classic 4AD sound combined with a not-so-subtle adoration of The Chameleons. This said, the vocals are much the opposite and provide the listener with a unique experience: singer Kim House’s voice falls somewhere in the realm between Miki Berenyi (Lush) and Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins).

In addition to track after track of fantastic songs, Empty Words Fill Lonely Spaces actually sounds amazing. The production quality is stunning and the songs are perfectly mixed, with just the right levels in the final product. “Drown Out" starts out sounding like Pornography-era Cure, before morphing into something more reminiscent of the Pale Saints; while “Paper Ships” stands out as an epic track, blending all of these influences with layers of guitar that recall The Church circa Hologram of Baal.

C’est la Mort is the perfect local act for enthusiasts of finely layered, reverb laden gothic and/or psychedelic music. They have all the hallmarks of memorable bands, in that their music consists of excellent influential elements -- while still remaining engaging and not at all contrived.