French post-punk outfit Monitors leads us down a dark, hypnotic path on "Danse Macabre", the first single/video from its upcoming debut full-length, The Madelaine Affair, due on 3 October through AnalogueTrash.

When death comes knocking at the door of a Bosnian babushka, nothing goes as planned. Blending folklore and dreamlike visions, "Danse Macabre" celebrates the fierce will to live and the beauty of endings that might not be final at all.

Disparate influences blend to create the signature Monitors' sound, and "Danse Macabre" is no exception. Here, the band shakes up those ingredients and serves a new sonic cocktail; Eastern European folk plays a role, and so does new wave – think Talking Heads and XTC. The band's electronic elements become more overt, pushing Monitors' predilection for techno and electronica into primal EBM. Monitors has rarely sounded so unrestrained, raw, and unpredictable as on "Danse Macabre".

Formed in Paris in 2017, Monitors is made up of Emil Balic (composer/bassist), Chris Remick (lyricist/vocalist), Feodor Trotta (drums), and Renaud Fumey (guitar).

With two well-received EPs, The War Office and Notes From The Aftermath, gaining the band a devoted following in France, Monitors has now announced its first full-length album, The Madelaine Affair.

"Danse Macabre" is the first glimpse into their new album and the next evolution of the band, and it's one heck of an introduction. Inspired by the medieval tradition of the Dance of Death, "Danse Macabre" explores the fragility of life, the rituals we cling to, and the silent battles we fight at the edge of the unknown. The band works in flavours of Irish and Slavic melodies and mysticism into the lyrics and composition of "Danse Macabre", deliberately reviving flashes of half-remembered religious beliefs and images.

Monitors resolutely remains a post-punk band, but "Danse Macabre" involves more experiences of Ireland, France, or post-war Bosnia, which become a vital part of its sound, melodies, and lyrics.

Says the band about the inspiration for the track: "Historically, the Danse Macabre served as a warning against the vanity of earthly glory. In times of plague and cholera, it reminded people of the universality of death while offering a strange kind of comfort, somewhere between faith, chaos, and a desperate thirst for joy. 'Danse Macabre' follows in that tradition".

It's a theme that the band was keen to explore in the official video clip for "Danse Macabre". "The music video features the whole band in a visual tableau mixing symbolism, dark humour, and melancholy", the band adds.

"Directed by Sarah Zaher and Emil Balic, it offers a contemporary reinterpretation of this ancient myth, halfway between poetic nightmare and popular theatre." Link