A few months ago, I saw the Montreal oi band Béton Armé play a DIY show with Poison Ruïn, and I was impressed. Béton Armé's sound is a hard, classicist take on old-school oi sounds that occasionally draws on the new wave influences so popular in the French oi scene right now. (Béton Armé aren't French, but they do sing in French.) In person, Béton Armé put on a show. Singer Dan is a true performer who struts and slides all over the place, both on and off the stage. They're a very cool band, and they've got a new album coming out soon.
Béton Armé's full-length debut Renaissance probably won't have a whole lot in common with Beyoncé's Renaissance, though I guess both albums are pretty dancefloor-focused. Lead single "Chemin De Croix" -- French for "Stations Of The Cross" -- builds on the hard, anthemic sound of the band's 2023 EP Second Souffle. The French-language lyrics are directed at some dirty lowlife who wants to see the narrator fail, and it's got some great gang-chant action. Below, check out "Chemin De Croix" and the Renaissance tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Dernier Recours"
02 "Cercle Vicieux"
03 "Lève-toi"
04 "Per la Vita"
05 "Montréal"
06 "PFA"
07 "Chemin de Croix"
08 "Sans Limites"
09 "La Nuit"
10 "Combattre"
11 "Territoire Hostile"
Renaissance is out 6/13 on La Vida Es Un Mus Discos.
