France isn’t exactly known for being a rock ’n’ roll country, and that fact was painfully evident when fewer than 50 people showed up at Les Étoiles to see Humanist perform a tantalizing set in support of their excellent new album, On the Edge of a Lost and Lonely World. But those who did show up made themselves heard, loudly voicing their support as the band delivered generous excerpts from both of their albums.
The last (and first!) time we caught Humanist live was when they opened for Jane’s Addiction, just as the wheels were coming off, leading to that infamous on-stage blow-up marking the end of the legendary alt-rock pioneers. Back then, On the Edge of a Lost and Lonely World had yet to be released, but the few tracks teased in that promising opening slot hinted at something special. We hoped they’d return to Paris in a headlining capacity, and with this show, our wish was granted.
Somewhere between Joy Division and Nirvana, Humanist’s music is anything but cheerful. It's dark, abrasive, intense... but never dreary. It's catharsis. Rob Marshall, the mastermind behind the project, tortures his guitar into emitting otherworldly sounds and cinematic textures, adding emotional color to what are, at their core, simple and direct songs. The rhythm section of bassist Wendy Rae Fowler and drummer Scott Pemberton lays down the crucial foundation, sculpting the peaks and valleys over which Marshall unleashes his torrents of decibels.
But perhaps the toughest role falls to Jimmy Gnecco, tasked with singing songs originally performed by vocalists like Mark Lanegan, Dave Gahan, and Ed Harcourt. That’s no small challenge. Yet Gnecco rises to it, balancing vocal power with presence, projecting the image of a true rock ’n’ roll frontman, grounding the show in emotional immediacy, even as the music veers into post-punk abstraction.
The world feels darker and more terrifying by the day. Humanity, collectively, and individually, carries that darkness. But there’s a strange beauty in facing it, in confronting it head-on. This is the opposite of escapism, but it bears the same consequence: for one fleeting, haunted hour at Les Étoiles, Humanist offered that confrontation, and in doing so, gave us the closest thing to peace we’re likely to feel.
