Vieux Loup

Vieux Loup means old wolf in French, and, perhaps inadvertently, a theme of pregnancy runs through the lyrics, from the repetition of the phrase long contraction during In Silence to the image of a character sleeping with the hand on the top of their belly during closing number Artefacts. Whether this was a conscious theme or not, it almost doesn't matter in the end, as there is little fun in deciphering an enigma if the enigma carries low purpose. After the confident aire that helped make No Ghost as good as it is, Vieux Loup feels like a regression, a safe record that fails to capitalize on the growth we were seeing throughout the Acorn's tenure. During Artefacts, Klausener mentions A congregation of distractions / Knocking at my door, and one can't help but wish he listened to them, giving a little bit more energy and interest to a disc that ends up being more of a holding pattern than a great revelation.